R.I.P. 2015: Cedar Knoll Retirement Home, Jackson/Grass Lake

Ever since I was a kid, I remember going down the highway and seeing this big long building along the side of the road on a hill.

“What's That?”
“That's Cedar Knoll.”
“What's that?”
“I just told you.”
“No, I mean what is Cedar Knoll?”
“That's the building you see on the hill.”
“But what is it for?”
“That's where old people go to retire.”
“Re-tire? You mean it's like a tire store?”
“No, not RE-tire...re-TIRE.”
“Not retire but retire. Okay, so don't tell me.”

It was a regular Abbott & Costello routine.

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After the exasperation wore down, then I realized what dad was getting at. For some odd reason, I had a weird fascination for Cedar Knoll. When I was old enough to drive and well into adulthood, every time I drove by I still imagined just what the heck was going on in there.

After many, many years of caring fore the elderly, in 2006 an inspection of the property did not have a happy ending. It was revealed they had a slew of violations, up to four times the state average. That said, Cedar Knoll closed in March 2007 when their Medicare and Medicaid licensing was dropped.

It sat empty for a number of years until April 2012 when some homeless people started a fire which unintentionally ended up destroying a good part of the building. The culprits were never found.

After the remains were demolished, there were a number of speculations and suggestions on what to do with the property. Currently, the site is home to Custom Truck One Source Service.

Scroll down to see a handful of photos of the old Cedar Knoll rest home.

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