Another empty, rock-strewn block in downtown Auburn.

Ah, but in the case of the one off South Division Street, between First and Second streets southeast, neither empty nor rocky for long.

On May 27, local dignitaries joined the top brass of Merrill Gardens and its development partner, Teutsch Partners, LLC, at the lot, talked a bit, grabbed shovels and pitched dirt.

All to announce that work is about to start on the senior apartment and assisted-living complex Merrill Gardens expects to open next spring.

“I am not, in any way, shape or form going to try to hide my enthusiasm,” said Mayor Nancy Backus. “This has been a long time coming. We are so excited to find Merrill Gardens downtown with us, and it’s a testament to who we are that we are building a vibrant — and this is really important — multi-generational downtown. It’s for everyone.”

City officials say that between the Trek Apartment retail project on the former Cavanaugh block on East Main and the Merrill Gardens project, there will soon be 300-500 new residents downtown.

“I’m standing in my old parking spot,” marveled Nancy Wyatt, chief operating officer and president since 2006 of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. … “I took the job nine years ago in April, and the building was right here. Literally from day one I was told, ‘That building’s coming down.’ And it has been so exciting over the years to watch the progress of what is happening in Auburn. This is the fruition of the patience of waiting for what we wanted, and bringing in Merrill Gardens, oh my gosh, we are just thrilled to have that come downtown.”

In 2007, the Economic Development Administration awarded the City of Auburn a $2.2 million federal grant and a $7.2 million local revitalization bond to upgrade streets, sidewalks and utilities to support such construction downtown.

Teutsch Partners LLC, the Seattle-based real estate development firm that owns the block, is going to build for Merrill Gardens a four-story retirement community, offering 111 assisted-living and 16 memory-care apartments.

Merrill Gardens will divide its 168,331 square feet of space between a below-grade parking level and three stories of memory-care units above ground, a mixture of one-bedroom, one-bath studio and two-bedroom, two-bath apartments.

Teutsch Partners, LLC is a privately-owned, regionally-focused, commercial real estate services and development company.

“Over two years ago,” said John Teutsch, founder and CEO of Teutsch Partners, “we were approached by (Auburn Economic Development Director) Doug Lein to look at these two blocks that were available. Doug’s a very persuasive guy. Between Doug, former Mayor (Pete) Lewis and then Mayor Backus … it was very hard to resist what they were saying: that the infrastructure here was all set, they had put the pieces in place, you had great street improvements, you had your utilities, all you needed was to get this underway,”

According to its website, Merrill Gardens, a privately-owned, family-run company, owns and operates 21 senior living communities in four states, with a focus on lifestyle. Each Merrill Gardens community is different in physical structure,

Renderings of Merrill Gardens at Auburn show a U-shaped building with a center-landscaped courtyard, part of the courtyard accessible to the public, facing South Division. One entrance will be off First Street Southeast, the second off Second Street Southeast.

David Eskenazy, president of Merrill Gardens, oversees its 28 communities.

“There are cities in this country that are very difficult to do business with, and then there are cities that make business happen. And it is a night-and-day experience, depending on which type of city you are dealing with, And it’s just amazing to see the progressive attitude and enthusiasm in the city of Auburn,” said Eskenazy.

“Get ready, it’s going to be a whirlwind,” Backus said, directing her comment to downtown business folk in the crowd. “Because when we have our new neighbors in here, you are going to see incredible things happening downtown. And we have no intention of stopping here.”