50th Anniversary
Covenant Place is a community that comes together to support and ensure the well-being of older adults. A place where people live with dignity, socialize, and enjoy a wealth of activities. As Covenant Place celebrates 50 years, it is forever moving forward to improve and enrich the lives of older adults through care and innovation in senior housing and services.
Forever Moving Forward
Harvey & Wilma Gerstein
Joan Denison
Covenant Place Early History
In March 1971, Harvey Gerstein, a B’nai B’rith member, learned that HUD had allocated $2 million for a senior housing project in St. Louis. A coalition of B’nai B’rith, the Jewish Federation, Jewish Community Center, and Jewish Center for the Aged formed to plan a 201-unit building on the Millstone Campus. The first resident moved into B’nai B’rith Covenant House I in 1973, an event covered by the Jewish Light as “Sam House Finds a Home.” This building set the standard for senior communities with amenities like a dining room, greenhouse, grocery, chapel, and meeting rooms. Due to overwhelming demand, the 102-unit Covenant Apartments II opened in 1977, and in 1978, the JCC established the Covenant House Senior Center to serve residents and the wider community.
The Jewish Federation helped develop the Community Housing Association, Inc. (CHAI) building, which opened in 1981 with 150 apartments and space for a Jewish hospital dialysis department and JCC Adult Day Care Center. The nonprofit Community Housing Management Corp. was created to manage the three-building complex, donating profits to Community Aging Corporation to fund resident services. By 2007, Covenant House I required system upgrades and life-safety improvements. Lee and Rob Bohm led the Capital Campaign, supported by generous donors. In honor of a lead gift from the Weinberg Foundation, the building was renamed Covenant House I Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Building.
2013 Redevelopment
By 2013, as Covenant House approached its 40th anniversary, the original buildings showed signs of aging and structural issues. After expert evaluations, the board launched a three-phase redevelopment with support from the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. The organization was renamed Covenant Place, and Community Aging Corporation became Covenant Place Foundation to mark this new chapter. Philanthropist Michael Staenberg helped secure financing and led development efforts, including acquiring land for the new buildings. The first, Covenant Place I Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Building with 102 units, opened in June 2016.
Memorable Moments
In 2014 Covenant Place celebrated Senior Prom!
The Mirowitz Center
In June 2019, Covenant Place II Cahn Family Building opened with 102 accessible, light-filled apartments. That September, the Mirowitz Center launched to serve both residents and the wider senior community with services like a café, medical care, therapy, onsite banking, and senior support organizations. The center quickly became a hub, offering 60 monthly programs and classes at little or no cost. Hundreds of older adults engage weekly in technology lessons, speaker series, creative arts, and more. With online classes reaching participants across 90 zip codes, the Mirowitz Center ensures seniors stay connected, even from home.
The Harvey & Wilma Gerstein Social Hall
In fall 2019, planning began for a major renovation of the CHAI building, enhancing both its interior and exterior and adding five new apartments with gardens and outdoor seating. In spring 2025, the Covenant Place III JCA Building was dedicated, featuring the new Harvey & Wilma Gerstein Social Hall. This elegant space connects all three buildings and offers dining, activity areas, a lounge, tech center, and a large screened porch with a patio. Residents can now easily move between buildings to enjoy programs, services, and socialize with neighbors. The social hall has become a central hub for community life at Covenant Place.