Nursing home basement being transformed into apartments
January 31st, 2008The basement of the former Lakeview Home is now being transformed into senior apartments.
Dennis Hood, who along with Mick Montage purchased Lakeview Home, Oak Terrace, and Heritage House December 1, reported that seven apartments in the basement of the facilities are expected to be completed by July 1.
The nursing home basement will have seven apartments, a combination of one and two bedroom units. Four, that are being constructed in the former activity room, will have patio doors facing the lake. The remaining three apartments in the basement, located in the former therapy and storage areas, will have lake views.
The apartment sizes will range from 900 to 1,300 square feet, Hood said. These will be larger than the existing apartments at Oak Terrace, he said.
It is planned that residents of Oak Terrace will move into the new apartments when they are completed. Once the Oak Terrace residents are relocated, the existing Oak Terrace, which was the former Gaylord Community Hospital, will be demolished in order to construct a two story addition that will offer more senior apartments and assisted living apartments. There will also be underground parking in the new addition, Hood said.
Those who rent the senior apartments will also have a storage compartment in the basement.
Developers plan to have 48 nursing home beds, 26 assisted living apartments, 22 memory loss beds, and 18 senior apartments.
Sometime in 2009, Heritage House residents will be moving into the main campus with assisted living, the nursing home and apartments.
Another major change is that the chapel will be moved to the former conference room in the basement. Physical therapy will be moved to the main floor, in the existing staff lunch room.
Hood said that the Oak Terrace Director of Nursing, social worker, and families will determine the best living facilities to meet the needs of the tenants.
Another change is that the block wall in the basement will be covered with sheet rock, and that there will be carpet added.
Hood said that his partner, Mick Montag, meets with staff every Monday to update them on the construction. The staff, in turn, update residents.
