Campus Towers

Pros

• Campus Towers is described as an excellent retirement home with professional staff.
• The dining room serves excellent food and offers restaurant-style dining.
• Becky Coleman, the activities director, regularly hosts fun social events.
• Marchelle Knapp, the administrator, is personable and approachable.
• Residents say Campus Towers remains a great place to live after two years.
• The staff did their best to keep things running normally during the pandemic, and they succeeded.
• The apartments are cute and residents get along with staff and other tenants.
• The dining area offers a good selection of breakfast, lunch, and dinner items, and there is a laundry facility and social spaces.

Cons

• Under new management, the care and overall quality for its residents has plummeted.
• It is no longer about providing for those who can't afford it, but cutting every corner possible to save a couple of pennies.
• The changes resulted in poor, unfriendly service and reduced portion sizes.
• Campus Towers is not for those looking for a fun, family-style atmosphere.
• The parking space can be a problem for visitors.

Review

Campus Towers emerges in these impressions as a retirement community with a strong sense of welcome, a mix of comfortable amenities, and a spectrum of experiences that can feel wonderfully uplifting or more critical depending on who you talk to and when. For a new resident who moved in just two weeks ago, the place already feels like home: a spacious studio with a big view, a kind and friendly atmosphere, and a dining program that has impressed with its quality. The writer notes that this was their first and only choice after a lengthy wait on the list, and they are genuinely glad to be there, especially enjoying the good food and the warm reception from neighbors and staff.

The affection for Campus Towers isn't limited to the new resident. Their aunty has taken to the community as well, making friends and feeling comfortable in the living environment. This anecdote underscores a recurring theme - the social fabric of the campus can be a strong point, helping residents settle in quickly and feel at ease in their new surroundings.

A resident who has lived at Campus Towers for nearly two years offers a thorough and unequivocally positive assessment. They describe it as an excellent retirement home with very professional staff, a dining room that serves excellent food, and a dining model they appreciate - restaurant-style availability that feels flexible and convenient. Two names repeatedly highlighted stand out: Becky Coleman, the activities director who consistently organizes fun social events, and Marchelle Knapp, the administrator, who is described as personable and approachable whenever a need arises. The overall sentiment in this account is clear: "You can tell I like it here."

The satisfaction endures over time. In a later reflection, the same resident emphasizes that their opinion has not changed - Campus Towers remains a great place to live. They note resilience in the face of the recent pandemic, praising the staff for doing their best to maintain normalcy and successfully managing those challenges. The firm takeaway is continued affection for the community and a commitment to staying.

Beyond the individual testimonials, others describe the practical realities of daily life at Campus Towers. People mention how the apartments are attractive and how residents seem to get along with staff and other tenants. The dining area is praised for its variety across breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the campus offers a range of social and practical amenities: a tidy laundry room, a living room with a TV area and board game tables, and a social environment that facilitates both casual conversation and planned gatherings. While parking can be a challenge for visitors, staff are consistently described as hospitable and professional. A recent gathering - a tenant's birthday party held in the big hall - was noted as quite nice, decorated with helium balloons, contributing to a sense of community and occasion.

There is also a longer-standing memory from a resident who moved in during October 2015, who describes Campus Towers as a godsend. They emphasize ample opportunities to avoid loneliness, either through cooking in a kitchen-equipped apartment or dining in the restaurant-style venue that offers flexible eating times - an arrangement that, at the time, ran from 9 to 5 to provide significant flexibility. The facility's laundry options, a range of activities, games, walking programs, and bus trips, all contribute to a peaceful and serene lifestyle. The overall sense conveyed here is one of gratitude for the amenities and the supportive atmosphere that accompanies daily life at Campus Towers.

Not all voices, however, paint an equally glowing picture, especially when changes in management enter the conversation. One critical perspective frames Campus Towers as once a fine establishment for senior citizens in Longview and the surrounding areas, now under new management. The critique centers on a perceived decline in care and overall quality, with claims that cost-cutting measures have crept in to save a few pennies. The reviewer expresses shock at the changes: poorer, less friendly service and smaller portions, effectively presenting Campus Towers as no longer suitable for those seeking a fun, family-style atmosphere. This contrast - between enduring affection for the place and concern about governance and service levels - highlights how perceptions of value and atmosphere can shift with leadership and policy changes.

Taken together, the array of experiences at Campus Towers paints a nuanced portrait. For many residents, it remains a welcoming, well-equipped community with strong social life, reliable dining, and attentive staff - from the activities director to the administrator - who make an effort to create a comfortable home. The long-term perspectives affirm the value of the living arrangements, the convenience of restaurant-style dining, and the camaraderie that comes with shared activities and events. Yet the criticisms pointing to new management and perceived reductions in service remind us that such communities are living ecosystems, where leadership decisions and policy shifts can significantly affect day-to-day life. In this mix of praise and concern, Campus Towers stands as a place of welcome and connection for many, while also inviting ongoing discussion about how best to balance care, affordability, and the warmth of community.

Parks

• Vandercook Park (0.3 miles)
• Lake Sacajawea Park (0.6 miles)
• The Lake (1 miles)
• Victoria Freeman Park (1.2 miles)

Restaurants

• Long-Bell Steakhouse and Seafood (0.3 miles)
• Grant s at the Monticello Hotel (0.3 miles)
• Subway (0.4 miles)
• Jack In The Box (0.4 miles)
• Jimmy John's (0.4 miles)
• Don Angel Taquería (0.4 miles)
• Applebee's (0.5 miles)

Cafes

• Monticello Wood Fired Pizzeria (0.3 miles)
• Longview Donut’s (0.6 miles)
• Guse's Gourmet Coffee (0.7 miles)
• The Office 842 (0.7 miles)
• Kaffiene Cafe Espresso (0.8 miles)
• Dutch Bros Coffee (0.9 miles)
• Cup of Jo's (1.1 miles)

Physicians

• Kirkpatrick Family Care (0.4 miles)
• Collier Prosthetics Ava (0.6 miles)
• Avada Hearing Care Centers (0.6 miles)
• Johnny Delashaw, MD (0.7 miles)
• PeaceHealth Family Medicine (0.8 miles)
• Cowlitz Free Medical Clinic (0.8 miles)
• PeaceHealth Women's Clinic (0.9 miles)

Transportation

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car (0.4 miles)
• Enterprise Truck Rental (1 miles)
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car (1 miles)
• U-Haul Neighborhood Dealer (1.2 miles)

Pharmacies

• Rite Aid (0.4 miles)
• Safeway Pharmacy (0.5 miles)
• Walgreens (1 miles)
• Safeway Pharmacy (1 miles)
• Fred Meyer Pharmacy (1.2 miles)
• Castle Rock Pharmacy (1.2 miles)
• Supplement Clinic (1.5 miles)

Places of Worship

• Northlake Baptist Church (0.5 miles)
• Emmanuel Lutheran Church (0.9 miles)
• First Baptist Church (1 miles)
• New and Living Way Church (1.2 miles)
• Love (1.2 miles)
• Shekinah Christian Center (1.2 miles)
• First Assembly of God (1.6 miles)

Hospitals

• Peace Health (1 miles)
• Northwest Permanente PC Physicians and Surgeons (1.1 miles)