09/06/2026
In September 1994, Central Gardens opened its doors at 302 N Elm to serve the seniors of Dexter and surrounding communities. A beautiful building full of memories and history, Central Elementary, had been renovated and licensed to provide long-term care to seniors. Today, thirty-two years later, Central Gardens, is still providing the greatest care to the seniors of Stoddard County.
We are proud of where we have been, but we are even more excited about where we are going. Over the past several months, Central Gardens has been undergoing an extensive transformation. We have been thoughtfully remodeling and refreshing our sunroom, hallways, dining room and resident rooms, along with updating lighting, furniture, flooring, walls and ceilings throughout our home. It has been a tremendous undertaking, and we are so excited for our residents, families and community to see the results.
While our surroundings may be changing, the heart of Central Gardens remains the same. We wanted these renovations to do more than simply make our building beautiful. Our goal has been to create warm, comfortable and inviting spaces that our residents are proud to call home—because this is their home. There is something especially meaningful about breathing new life into a building that has served generations of families in our community. Once filled with children learning and growing as Central Elementary, these halls are now filled with the stories, laughter and memories of the seniors who helped build the community we enjoy today.
After 32 years, we are still growing, still improving and still looking for ways to make Central Gardens the very best it can be for the people we are privileged to serve.
Same history. Same heart. A beautiful new chapter.
We are excited to begin sharing our newly renovated spaces with you and invite you to come see what’s new at Central Gardens.
We plan to complete the majority of our renovations this month and we are having a rededication of Central Gardens on Tuesday September 29th, between 1:30 and 4:30.
We think you’re going to love what you see—and we would be honored to show you around.
We will share some photos of our progress throughout the month and we definitely want to thank our subcontractors, staff and owners who have been diligently working on this transformation. A special thanks to our residents and families who have been so understanding and excited while these changes have been being worked on.
