WINCHESTER, VA (June 2, 2016) –The Village at Orchard Ridge celebrated progress on its second phase of development Wednesday in its recently completed 150-seat dining area.
The retirement community — owned by Maryland-based nonprofit National Lutheran Communities & Services — offers in-home services, memory care and skilled nursing for long-term care and short-term rehabilitation. The facility opened in February 2013 and houses 329 residents.
The second phase began in January 2015. So far, the phase has seen the addition of 18 cottages, the expansion of the dining area that opened in February, and a 15,000-square-foot wellness center, called the Engage Center, that opened May 23. The largest segment of the Engage Center is a room containing a lap pool, exercise pool and spa. The center also includes an expanded gym, an art room, a physical therapy room, a multipurpose study room and a massage studio.
“I think the conceptual idea was to get all of our wellness/health activities under one roof,” said Larry Bradshaw, CEO and president of NLCS, during a tour.
Josh Janney/The Winchester Star
Remaining projects under the second phase include the addition of 104 independent-living apartments and 10 skilled-nursing suites. Communications Director Courtney Malengo said Howard Shockey & Sons, Inc. is expected to complete that construction by the end of the year.
The Frederick County Economic Development Authority issued about $67 million in bond proceeds for the development of the second phase in December 2014. Financing for the second phase is through partnerships with Hamlin Capital Management LLC and Crosspoint Capital, and comprises a series of four tax-exempt bonds that have a blend of variable and fixed-rate debt for the project, according to a news release from The Village at Orchard Ridge.
During the ceremony in the dining area, Bradshaw thanked the residents for their patience and trust the past few years, as they all faced initial uncertainty over how the various projects would turn out.
John Bodanske, 72, and his wife, Barbara, were among the first to move into the community when it opened, and he said he had been anticipating the pool for a long time. He told the roughly 300 people in the dining area that the wait paid off. “All of this stuff is functional, it’s beautiful and it’s even a little extravagant,” Bodanske said. “It’s just gorgeous. … I don’t think anybody can have any complaints.”
President of the Resident Association Susan Dailey, who has lived in The Village at Orchard Ridge since June 2013, described the community as a “state-of-the-art facility like no other.” The 70-year-old said the additions have satisfied the growing demands of the senior community, and that they will enrich the lives of the residents.
“Aging has changed and our demands have expanded,” Dailey said. “No more babysitting old folks and patting us on the head. We want more, more, more. We want more involvement and more meaning and more stimulation and more action and more connection.”
— Source: Josh Janney, Winchester Star. View article here.