Redmond’s Emerald Heights, a Type A continuing-care retirement community with amenity-rich offerings, officially opened the doors to its newest apartment complex, Trailside, a 43-unit independent living apartment building.

At the Sept. 24 opening ceremony, more than 250 community members celebrated the last piece of the $60 million campus expansion and one of the final phases of the Emerald Heights master plan. The community broke ground on the apartment building in June of last year.

During the ceremony, current residents welcomed Trailside residents as they entered the finished building for the first time. Ted Bell, vice chair of the Resident Council Association, encouraged new residents to take advantage of everything Emerald Heights has to offer.

“Trailside is your new home and we welcome you to experience all we enjoy as residents of Emerald Heights,” he said.

Current, new and potential residents attended the ceremony, in addition to the construction project team and representatives from the Redmond City Council, including Byron Shutz and Hank Myers, along with representatives from the office of Congresswoman Suzan DelBene.

Lisa Hardy, president and CEO of Emerald Communities that sponsors Emerald Heights, thanked current residents for their patience during the construction process.

“We sincerely appreciate your graciousness throughout this project. Today, we celebrate a return to life without major construction as we open Trailside,” she said.

Emerald Heights provides millions of dollars in economic impact to Redmond annually in employee salaries including taxes and benefits, vendor services, health-care supplies and the construction of new amenities including the completion of Trailside project.

Trailside residents began moving into their new homes immediately.