Senior Living Community Gets Best Of 2025 Nomination

Oak Park, Illinois — Every community has its bright spots — the neighbors, businesses and local favorites that make it feel like home. As 2025 comes to a close, Patch and T-Mobile are recognizing the people, places and moments that made this year brighter in Oak Park through our Best of 2025 series.

This story was submitted by Rich Russell, who nominated Oak Park Arms. To share your own Best of 2025 nomination, click here to answer a few questions, and we’ll take it from there.

Who or what are you nominating for Best of 2025?

Oak Park Arms

How did this person, place or experience make a difference in your life or community this year?

The Oak Park Arms has served as a community hub in Oak Park River Forest and the surrounding area. The senior living community bridges the gap between generations through an onsite preschool and its senior residents. By opening its doors for public activities and events such as exercise classes, big band dances, and educational programs, it has fostered wellness and social connection for both residents and community neighbors.

What would you like everyone in town to know about your nominee?

The Oak Park Arms is more than a senior living community; it is a resource for everyone in the community. You can see high schoolers performing in the historic ballroom or preschoolers meeting Santa. Seniors in the community attend the “Academy for Seniors” lifelong learning lecture courses which includes topics such as the aging brain or the philosophers round table. The community is one of the most inclusive and accessible spaces in Oak Park.

If you could tell them one thing, what would it be?

Thank you for being the "community’s living room" and for demonstrating the beauty of intergenerational life; seeing children from the preschool interact with seniors reminds us all how much we have to learn from one another.

What’s something you love most about your town or community?

I love that Oak Park prioritizes connection and lifelong learning. Our community thrives because of places like the Oak Park Arms that go above and beyond to ensure that residents of all ages have a place to gather, stay active, and grow together.

We want to hear from you, too! Is there a restaurant, a contractor, a business, a person — even a place — that’s your pick for Best of 2025? Click here to answer a few questions, and your story could be featured on Patch.

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