Park Vista Renovates Retirement Community
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Sitting on a couch in Park Vista Retirement Community’s newly renovated lobby, Angie Costello and her friends marvel at the seemingly new surroundings.
“These are kind of old buildings, and it made it look so much brighter,” Costello said. “It doesn’t even seem like a [retirement] home.”
Park Vista residents, staff and other community members gathered in the lobby Wednesday evening to dedicate the renovated Stambaugh Lobby and the Florence S. & Ward Beecher Dining Room. Residents relaxed in new couches and chairs, enjoying the new gas fireplace built into the wall separating the lobby from the dining area. Guests complimented the craftsmanship of the wood archways leading into the dining area, something that Park Vista’s executive director, Brian Kolenich, said was crucial to the renovation’s design.
“We wanted to capture Youngstown and what we thought the tradition of Youngstown was,” Kolenich said. “When you look at the institutions throughout Youngstown, to me it’s oak, wainscoting, marble, the formal finishings, and that’s what we’re shooting for.”
Planning for the project started about a year ago with staff from Park Vista and Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services working with JMM Architects in Columbus, which specializes in the design and planning of nursing homes and retirement communities. Youngstown-based Murphy Construction and 19 area subcontractors worked on the project from Thanksgiving of last year to this past Easter, completing the renovation in about five months, Kolenich said.
Along with some operating capital, donations from the estateof former resident Helen Stambaugh and an anonymous donor provided the seed money to fund the more than $500,000 project, “For that we’re really grateful,” Kolenich said. Stambaugh was the first executive director of the campus, and the lobby was dedicated in the Stambaugh family name in 2006.
“It’s an honor to rededicate this lobby in their name,” Kolenich said.
“In our organization, we cherish any donation that’s made,” added Daniel O’Connor with OPRS Communities. “Those are the kind of gifts that make a big difference at Park Vista. It’s for the residents of today and the residents of tomorrow.”
Renovations included the private dining room at the back of the dining area where families can enjoy meals together. Also included are the archway leading to Park Vista’s chapel and the center’s library, which features refurbished shelving, a new fireplace and shelves stocked full with new releases in fiction and nonfiction.
And for resident Ida Zell, the dining area now provides more than just a tasty meal.
“The fireplace makes it so cozy,” Zell said. “This is a dream for us to visit and keep in touch with one another.”
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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