The parking lot is nearing completion and the new front entrance looks like what it will become. The finish of the expansion project for Generations at Applewood is only weeks away, and the facility is going to spend the rest of the summer in a flurry of activity.
“It’s so exciting to go into the construction area and see everything coming together,” said Debbie Massey, the newly hired administrator. “We have so many new features coming in, I hate having to wait to show them to our residents.”
Once finished, the expanded building will offer freshly updated private suites, a dialysis center, two private courtyards, walking paths and picnic areas, a modernized therapy room with the latest equipment and more menu options coming out of a triple-sized kitchen.
“This is going to be big for the south suburbs,” said Jason White, the assistant vice president for physical plant and dietary.
“Big” meaning almost twice its original size. Currently standing at 36,189 square feet, the expansion will add 27,141 new square feet, including a newly paved parking lot and an entirely new front entrance and lobby.
The focus of the construction is on the addition of 30 single-occupant suites. The new rooms will feature walk-in tiled showers within spacious bathrooms, quartz countertops, wardrobe closets, refrigerators, wireless internet and large flatscreen televisions.
Applewood will have new capabilities as well, currently being built into the dialysis unit and the expanded therapy room. The therapy area’s floor plan will be adorned with larger windows and new technology for aiding residents’ recoveries.
“The flow to it, it’s a more inviting concept, with colors that promote energy,” White said.
To go with the new kitchen, Applewood will soon feature a new dining room and private dining areas for birthday parties, anniversaries and other special occasions. All of these will come with “a much wider variety of meals that we can make in-house” with the kitchen’s amplified capabilities, White said.
“We’re all looking forward to the finished product, because it’s going to be amazing,” Massey said.
