Renaissance Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center’s renovation plan includes demolition of these two attached houses on Chester Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets.
Residents living near the 4700 block of Chester Avenue can expect to see a face-lift to the area this year as Renaissance Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center undergoes renovations.
Renaissance (formerly Park Pleasant Nursing Home) will revamp its grounds encompassing Chester and Kingsessing Avenues under the guidance of its new owner, Nationwide Healthcare Services, which purchased the 123-bed long-term and short-term care facility January 1. It is part of Renaissance’s larger effort to become “a focal point of [the] community,” said Nursing Home Administrator Carmella Kane.
“One of our goals is… to have a long-term care facility to serve the community,” she said. “Aesthetically, we want to be the best thing around.”
The overhaul will include garden beautification, interior remodeling to residential living space, and demolition of two attached, vacant residences adjacent to the Chester Avenue Dog Park on the corner of 48th and Chester (Renaissance owns both the homes and the park, which will remain intact.) Signage reflecting the facility’s new name is already posted on the property.
According to Kane, Renaissance hasn’t scheduled a start date for demolition of the two houses, which are currently being gutted, as permits have not been obtained. The administrator denied rumors that the site will turn into a parking lot; instead, she noted what it will become is “unknown.” There are no plans for construction on the area, however.
“We will not do anything to hinder the community but they’re dilapidated buildings,” Kane said, “and nobody has lived in there for years, so it’s not like they’re tearing down existing living space…We’re going to be very conscious of the community.”
She said Renaissance will keep the community notified of renovation updates and other related news. By the way, this Friday, Apr. 12, one of Renaissance residents is celebrating her 100th birthday and community members are invited to the party that begins at 2 p.m.
“Nursing homes have such a stigma anyways,” Kane said. “We want to be a positive part of the community because we’ve been here for so long.”
– Annamarya Scaccia
Recent Comments