An indication that more folks are considering Ithaca as a retirement location?
From the Ithaca Times:
Kendal of Ithaca Plans $39 Mil Expansion
Posted: Friday, April 18, 2014 8:51 am | Updated: 8:15 am, Tue Apr 22, 2014
By Michael Nocella
Kendal at Ithaca, a senior living community on a 105-acre campus on North Triphammer Road in Cayuga Heights, recently announced plans for a $39 million expansion that will include renovations to its dining experience, wellness and fitness programs, nursing home capacity and residential living. Currently awaiting final approval from the New York State Department of Health and Department of Financial Services, Kendal is hoping to break ground on the project “before the end of good weather” in 2014.
The proposed expansion is a two-story building with 24 apartments off the southeast corner of campus, three one-story nursing wings off the northeast corner of the existing nursing home, and a new, centralized entrance to the facility that will be large enough for TCAT buses to enter—an option the campus’s current entrance does not allow. The new apartments will bring the total number of residences on site for community members “living independently” from 212 to 236.
Residential capacity will not be the only part of the community that will grow. The new skilled nursing homes will increase the number of rooms from 35 to 48 using three separate wings—each with 16 private rooms. Each wing will include a central kitchen, dining and living room, and adjoining outdoor space. The three nursing wings will be begin a game of musical chairs. Once they are completed, the current nursing rooms will become residential health services and current residential health services will become welcome new office space for administration.
“The whole process will be a cascade effect,” said Betsy Schermerhorn, Director of Marketing & Admissions, Kendal at Ithaca.
Expansion at Kendal is something that has always been a possibility. Built in 1995, the campus was initially granted a 250-person maximum capacity for residential living, leaving the current facility with the flexibility to—in theory—add 38 more apartments. After extensive market research in recent years, Schermerhorn said it was apparent the demand for 24 more apartments was there. That part of the expansion is considered the biggest moneymaker, making the rest of the renovations included possible.
“We always felt there was room,” Schermerhorn said. “So why now? I think it’s a combination of things. First, the physical nature of the campus has aged. Secondly, expectations of people moving in have evolved. A demand for Wi-Fi in our fitness center is an example of that.”
Of the expansion’s renovations, a new café and rooms for a new fitness center and aerobics are expected to bring the most energy to Kendal’s campus. The new dining area will have a café feel, which Schermerhorn said grew out of “the idea to get a casual dining experience going on.” She noted that the new main entrance will create an easy point of entry for the new commodities, with an overpass “built purposefully high enough to compensate a TCAT bus,” adding that nothing is “officially set up anything with TCAT yet, but we are very excited to have that element in the design.”
Kendal at Ithaca Executive Director Daniel Governanti said the thoroughness and connectivity of the expansion plan was a collaborative effort that did not happen over night. Perkins Eastman, and Ithaca-based Chiang O’Brien Architects, and Trowbridge Wolf Michaels Landscape Architects have all contributed to the design of the expansion.
“Our project plans evolved over more than two years of studying need and feasibility through discussions with residents, prospective residents and staff, led by the Project Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees,” Governanti said. “We concluded that both expansion and enhancement were needed. Our goal is to ensure Kendal at Ithaca’s viability well into the future by making the community an even better place to live, work and visit.”
Chair of the Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees Martha Armstrong stressed the expansion accomplishes more than getting bigger for the sake of getting bigger.
“We will be energizing the heart of the Kendal community by focusing on the wellness of residents and staff,” she said. “The expansions will provide more options to engage in fitness and social activities, as well as fresh dining opportunities. But this is really about enhancing the Kendal mission, supporting resiliency in older adults so that they can be culturally and socially engaged.”
Already one of Ithaca’s larger employers with nearly 250 employees, an estimated 20 new jobs at Kendal will be created by the expansion. The construction operations will employ more than 250 workers for varying durations during what is expected to be a 24- to 28-month construction period. When the project will start hinges on New York State’s sign-off. The Planning Board of the Village of Cayuga Heights reviewed and approved site plans, and Kendal expects to get the final green light sometime this summer.
“We are hoping for a May or June approval,” Schermerhorn said. “Hopefully we can break ground before the end of good weather. It’s our understanding that the latest construction workers would typically begin a big project like this is no later than October.” •
Here's the link:
http://www.ithaca.com/news/kendal-of...a4bcf887a.html