Seniors move into new facility
Cynthia Barnhart, 68, stands in her new kitchen at the Gateway Senior Housing facility on High Street in Waynesburg. The building opened June 27, and seniors were able to move in right away.
Virginia Scandale, 81, sits in her new living room at the Gateway Senior Housing facility on High Street in Waynesburg. The building opened June 27, and seniors were able to move in right away.
Millie Wonderling, 75, sits in her living room one week after moving into the new Gateway Senior Housing facility on High Street in Waynesburg. The building opened June 27, and seniors were able to move in right away.
The community room at the new Gateway Senior Housing facility on High Street in Waynesburg will be used for programs and entertainment. The building opened June 27, and seniors were able to move in right away.
WAYNESBURG – For 75-year-old Millie Wonderling, mowing the grass, fixing appliances and keeping up with her two-story Nemacolin home was getting to be too much. That’s why she applied in January for a unit in the new senior apartment complex in Waynesburg.
After months of waiting, she was finally able to move in last week.
“I’m loving it,” she said. “I thank God that I’m able to be here because I can’t live anywhere else for this kind of money and not have to worry about upkeep.”
Wonderling’s new pad is one of 10 units rented out at the new Gateway Senior Housing facility on High Street in Waynesburg, according to Jason Temple, site manager. The facility, which opened June 27, has a total of 52 apartments and, Temple said, he has 51 applications still to go through.
“There were people waiting to move in,” Temple said. “Even people whose applications haven’t been approved yet are antsy to get in.”
Most of the residents and applicants are retired because the building was built for independent seniors 62 or older whose income is 60 percent or less of the medium income for the county, Temple said.
“I think that because we’re not mixing generations, it will be more of a welcoming companionship that we can offer,” Temple said.
Along with age and income guidelines, the residents need to pass criminal and credit background checks. Also, the residents are responsible for paying gas and electric bills and furnishing the apartments, except for kitchen appliances.
The complex has a large community room for programs and entertainment and a wellness center with exercise equipment and blood pressure checks.
There is also a laundry room, and finishing touches are being put on a computer room. Each unit also has an emergency cord connected to a monitoring system.
When pulled for an emergency or medical problem, it will notify Temple’s office, which is located on the first floor, he said.
Construction crews broke ground on the $10 million project at High and East streets in early May. PIRHL Development of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, was the developer.
The complex is also pet-friendly for animals 25 pounds and lighter, which was a selling point for Wonderling, who is not living in one of the 21 two-bedroom apartments.
“That I could keep my cat was a big thing,” she said. “As much as she doesn’t really like me, I like her.”
Another selling point for her was “adequate storage,” because it wasn’t easy getting three stories worth of her belongings from her old house into four rooms, she said.
Cynthia Barnhart, 68, another new resident, decided her new place called for some new furniture. She said she’s been living on her sister’s farm in Washington Township, but moved into Gateway Monday and bought a new couch, table and chair.
“I called as soon as I heard about this place,” she said. “I love that it’s for seniors and that it’s right in town.”
The social aspect to the facility is what brought Virginia Scandale to Gateway. The 81-year-old said she was living in an apartment building in West Waynesburg for more than three years.
“But I didn’t know anybody around and I’m a people person,” she said. “I wanted to see people and socialize, and I thought this would be more convenient for me.”
Temple said he hopes to have the facility filled by the end of August.
Anyone interested in leasing information or wanting to know if they’re eligible can contact representatives at 724-880-0373 or send an email to gatewaysenior@ndcrealestate.com.