After 17 years with Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community, Kimberly Farfone Borts is moving on to what she described as “a really amazing opportunity” with a nearby community that is affiliated with her current employer.
Farfone Borts, Bishop Gadsden’s vice president for mission and communications, was named in November as executive director of a senior living community currently under construction within Freshfields Village on Kiawah Island. Seafields at Kiawah Island by Bishop Gadsden, which is expected to open in late fall 2025, will offer 89 well-appointed independent apartments, along with six two-bedroom and 10 one-bedroom expansive assisted living residences.
Farfone Borts has a long history with and a strong connection to Charleston County’s southern islands. Her family has owned a home on Seabrook Island since 1980, and she worked on Kiawah when she was in college. She started her professional career with a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., but moved to the Lowcountry and the nonprofit world in 2001 with Sea Island Habitat for Humanity, where she was present for the 2005 opening of Freshfields Village. In 2007, Bill Trawick, Bishop Gadsden’s then president and CEO, recruited her to serve as director of development and communications.
Seafields will include five different dining venues, including a formal dining room; a bar featuring food and drink; a bistro; a refined assisted living dining room; and outdoor patio dining that overlooks Freshfield Lake. There also will be a fitness room, a yoga and aerobics studio, a state-of-the-art theater and a multipurpose space where residents will enjoy varied and thoughtful programming and events. In addition, Seafields’ residents will be able to walk to 50 different Freshfields Village shops, restaurants and office spaces – and the MUSC Health Kiawah Partners Pavilion, which will include a freestanding emergency center and a helipad, is currently under construction.
“We will have all of these exciting aspects of Seafields with the confidence in knowing Seafields residents have a health care plan that will support them as needs change,” Farfone Borts commented.
She added that what makes Bishop Gadsden unique will carry over to Seafields, located just 18 miles to the south: “Our focus is on creating connection with a greater mission, which forms a real sense of community and affirmation of a culture that is respectful, caring and comforting. It’s a very special combination of warmth and hospitality.”
“My goal is to bring the best aspects of Bishop Gadsden to Seafields,” Farfone Borts said. “It’s going to be a remarkable senior living community that will be like no other. To be able to share my experience in senior living as a whole and my strong ties to Seabrook, Kiawah and Johns Island – I can’t imagine a more exciting opportunity.”
The Seafields project is being developed by Big Rock Partners, with Balfour Beatty serving as the general contractor and LS3P as the architect. Sales and marketing are being handled by Kiawah Island Real Estate and Kiawah Partners.
Farfone Borts, who will lead a team of around 60, has already become entrenched at Seafields, while continuing in her current role until a replacement is named.
Sarah Tipton, president and CEO of Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community stated: “This is an exciting time for Bishop Gadsden to expand its mission to the sea islands of Kiawah, Seabrook, Johns and beyond, all of which have had a connection to the success of Bishop Gadsden’s 175-year history. With the appointment of Kimberly Farfone Borts as executive director, Bishop Gadsden looks forward to successfully opening and operating Seafields by Bishop Gadsden.”
Kimberly Farfone Borts
Executive director, Seafields at Kiawah Island by Bishop Gadsden
1 Bishop Gadsden Way, Charleston
843-406-6334
Bishopgadsden.org/seafields
