DEMOPOLIS &045; The city’s only assisted living complex, the Willows, has been by Rick Cagle of Mobile and will be renamed Southern Oaks Assisted Living of Demopolis.

Cagle said he plans to reopen the second structure on the site to house more residents once the structure regains its license through the Alabama Department of health. He said the structure lost its license after sitting vacated for a month in accordance with the department’s guidelines.

Cagle said he plans to both expand into the second building, and he hopes to eventually also build another structure to offer specialty assisted living care. He categorized the current facilities as a step between living at home and a nursing home.

Cagle said the units already offer amenities like a beauty parlor onsite and group activities, but he wants to expand what is available for residents. He wants to offer programs that foster community involvement and gives residents activities they would enjoy.

Cagle owns a second assisted living complex in Bay Minette, near Mobile, and manages another in Daphne. He said he has just recently become an entrepreneur and has spent most of his life in ministry.

In the early days of his ministerial career he gained his ties to Demopolis. He came to the town originally in 1974 to be the youth pastor for the First Baptist Church of Demopolis. Though he stayed only a year he took away a souvenir, his wife, named Marie Collins when they met. Cagle said his ministry is still part of his business.