First ‘dementia village’ in US coming to Fitchburg

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

As reported by WMTV 15 News

Nearly 10% of Wisconsinites over 65 are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and a new “dementia village” coming to Fitchburg promises to address the isolation and loneliness the disease can create.

Instead of a traditional memory care facility, people living with dementia will be part of a small community, living alongside neighbors with similar interests.

The Fitchburg Common Council approved one of the first steps for America’s first dementia village in January to be built on Agrace’s Fitchburg campus. The $40 million project is the first of its kind in the U.S., based on a concept from the Netherlands.

Fitchburg Alder Logan Reigstad knows what it’s like to see a loved one battling dementia.

“My great grandma lived with me while she was suffering from dementia, and watching someone go through that is absolutely heart wrenching,” Reigstad said. “I don’t often have words to describe it. But then there would be these glimmers, these little moments when she would come back. And it would be a memory of a song, or it would be something that would trigger that.”

Reigstad said he hopes this project will help create more positive moments for other families.

“As I look at the dementia village concept where it’s really trying to evoke that, I just think of how many more moments it could provide for families like mine and all of those suffering from dementia,” he said.

The project comes as Agrace President and CEO Lynne Sexten says dementia cases are expected to surge in coming years.

“There’s going to be such a gap, such a need for additional memory care beds in our community that it was a slam dunk. It made sense to move forward with this,” Sexten said. “Families aren’t happy, the people living in these memory care units aren’t always happy, and so really what we wanted to do was try to find a better solution. And this solution has been created in lots of other countries, just not the U.S.”

The village won’t look or feel like a nursing home. Instead of one big facility, there will be eight small homes, each housing eight residents. The campus will include a restaurant, spa and grocery store designed to feel like a real neighborhood.

“We want to create an environment where we restore as much autonomy and personal spontaneity as possible for those living with dementia,” Sexten said.

The project will also include housing for staff, helping address caregiver burnout.

“This is just another option for senior related housing in our community with that particular high skilled care that folks with dementia need and allows them to stay closer to home,” Reigstad said.

Agrace hasn’t released exact pricing yet for families interested, but officials say it will be similar to other memory care facilities in the area. Room and board will be paid out of pocket. Medical expenses will be billed to insurance.

The village can house up to 65 people, and around 40 to 50 can visit as day club members. The village is expected to break ground in the spring of 2026 and open in September of next year.