From tai chi to senior ballet, knitting to mah jongg, Jewish learning to movies old and new, the classes at the Mirowitz Center at Covenant Place are a welcome addition to the services and experiences the center is offering to St. Louis seniors — not only to Covenant Place residents, but also to seniors throughout the St. Louis area.

Located in Covenant Place II’s Cahn Family Building, 8 Millstone Campus Drive near Creve Coeur, the center — named after donor Helene Mirowitz and located in the new building named for donors Paul and Elissa Cahn — also will feature a restaurant with kosher and non-kosher kitchens.  

And a medical wing includes a 3,200-square-foot space for physical, occupational and speech therapy along with a primary and geriatric care practice staffed by Washington University physicians.

The Mirowitz Center joins fellow forward-thinking Jewish institutions providing services and creating community for St. Louis seniors, including Crown Center for Senior Living in University City, Jewish Federation’s Naturally Occurring Retirement Community in the Creve Coeur area and the J.  

Funding for the $34 million, 111,697-square-foot Cahn Family Building came from a mix of private donations, mortgages, and state and local tax credits and grants.  

Now that it has opened, the organization doesn’t plan to rest. Its next step is to raise money for Phase 3, which will involve the demolition of the former Covenant Place II building and construction of 150 apartments. Residents from the Chai Apartments would be moved into that facility.

No timetable for that expansion has been announced, but if its features are anything like those in the Cahn Family Building, it’s a project well worth waiting for.