Posted on
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Multi-Million Dollar Project Transforms Senior Community
By GREG JUNEK
Business Editor
For Atria Willow Park, the status quo was not enough, especially with the growth of retirement and senior living communities in Tyler.
Business Editor
For Atria Willow Park, the status quo was not enough, especially with the growth of retirement and senior living communities in Tyler.
So, Executive Director Ron Lewis said, the community, which includes independent and assisted living, started planning a few years ago to spruce up its campus at the corner of South Vine Avenue and Old Jacksonville Highway.
Last week the community unveiled about $7 million in improvements, and Lewis said work has not yet finished.
"Atria has been here 22 years; it's the oldest one in Tyler," Lewis said. "It was beautiful before we ever started the refurb, but we've done a lot of things."
Atria Senior Living, based in Louisville, Ky., examined every property it had, and the Tyler campus was a natural selection for an upgrade. Lewis said the change in appearance is like night and day.
"There have been other places open up in the last few years here in Tyler," Lewis said. "This one over here wasn't so pretty, but it had all the care that you needed. ... We went through our refurb and now we have it all. There is no competition for us."
Work started in April 2007 and the first, and the largest, part of the renovation was completed in July.
Residents have their hair done in one of Atria Willow Park’s salons.
Some work still needs to be performed on individual apartments, which will take the entire project to about $10 million or $11 million. Lewis said this would take one or two years to complete.
Now, interior woodwork that was once very dark is a mid-level brown color. Also on the interior, carpet and other flooring was replaced and stone was added to walls and columns. New interior fountains were also added.
"We just renovated a 22-year-old building," Lewis said, referring to the larger, independent living side of the community. "The other side, the assisted living, is only 12 years old. But since we were doing this side, we went ahead and did that side as well. So there wasn't one square foot of this building that was not touched."
The park outside includes several water features and a sculpture garden with sculptures designed and built by student artists at The University of Texas at Tyler. Open seating areas were covered and ceiling fans and misters were added to make the summer days more bearable.
Lewis said the community does not recommend residents sit outside in the heat, but the new amenities do allow them to safely enjoy sunny days without risking their health.
"With the misters, it drops the temperatures in those shaded areas as much as 20 degrees sometimes," he said.
The project also included a putting green.
Lewis said local contractors were used on most of the work.
Lewis said local contractors were used on most of the work.
Formerly Briarcliff Village, Atria purchased the facility several years ago and sold a nursing home that was part of Briarcliff. It initially renamed the campus Atria Briarcliff, but a few years ago changed it to Atria Willow Park.
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