A pastoral palace: Mossman set to open Conrad Mansion Country Estates for seniors

The owner of the second largest single family house in Iowa is welcoming senior citizens who wish to “age gracefully” as the Conrad Mansion Country Estates will open on Hawk Avenue in rural Grundy County on May 1.
           
Jeff Mossman, who has lived in the 16,000 square foot “Conrad Mansion” with his family since 2003, will serve as the administrator of the facility, and it will include 16 beds, 11 bathrooms, a full-time chef to cook meals, a gymnasium/recreation area, an elevator to the upper level, a large outdoor garden and a chicken coop for residents. It won’t, however, have the traditional feel of a nursing home or assisted living facility: visitors won’t find a sign out front, and they won’t have to enter a code to walk through the doors. According to Mossman, it’s part of a conscious effort to avoid the “institutional” label.
           
“I don’t know about you, but when I grow up, my idea is not to be in an institution with doors slamming, people talking and hallways and stuff. I would like to live in a normal home, and that’s what I choose for myself,” he said. “If I can do that for other people, why not?”
           
Since deciding to move forward with the project last year, Mossman has employed the services of around 20 contractors to renovate the home and prepare it for its new life, and while he wouldn’t provide a concrete dollar amount, one can assume that the improvements didn’t come cheap.
 
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