<!--Mark Scheer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Mark Scheer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com">mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
Local officials on Thursday celebrated the completion of a $2 million renovation project that they view as another step forward for the continued revitalization of Main Street.
Community leaders and residents turned out for an event marking the completion of an interior overhaul of the Main Street building that the Health Association of Niagara County, Inc. has called home for the past 27 years.
The project involved a refurbishment of the agency’s entire 27,000-square-foot building and the addition of an outdoor atrium and garden on HANCI’s property at 1302 Main St.
HANCI Director John Kinner said the new-look space will allow his agency to move forward with a plan to expand its offerings to nursing home eligible seniors. He said it also serves as a symbol of HANCI’s continued commitment to Main Street and the surrounding neighborhood.
“It’s really our re-commitment to Main Street,” Kinner said. “Part of this was making the decision to not build this somewhere else and start a brand new building, but use this beautiful building and the history that it has here and really make that into something that will serve the community in a greater capacity.”
HANCI has been offering services to county residents for the past 87 years and has been operating out of its offices on Main Street since 1982. The renovation work was funded by HANCI with financing from HSBC Bank and state grants and contributions from various local foundations. Kinner said HANCI plans to use a portion of the revamped building to accommodate growth in various agency programs, including offices for the Council for Older Adults, the home care program and volunteer center. Roughly 11,000 square feet of the building will be used as a day center and clinic that will serve as the hub for the agency’s new Complete Senior Care program. Mirrored after a national model known as Program All Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, Complete Senior Care will focus on medical and social services for elderly residents who may need help in continuing to maintain independent lifestyles. Kinner said it is expected that the new program will serve roughly 160 seniors when it officially begins later this year.
“There’s no model like this in Niagara County existing today,” Kinner said. “All of the care will be met here — medical care, nutritional care, physical care, recreational, everything. If they need help at home, we will also have staff that will go into the home, so it’s all inclusive.”
Complete Senior Care is being developed under a partnership with the Dale Association of Lockport. Kinner said the partners are planning to open a second Complete Senior Care center in Lockport in three to five years.
“Most of the seniors want to stay in their homes,” Kinner said. “They don’t want to be in a nursing home. This allows us to provide them with an alternative to nursing home care. They will be able to stay in their homes as long as they want and we can meet all of the needs that they have.”
HANCI’s effort was hailed on Thursday as yet another sign that Main Street may finally be heading in the right development direction. The project follows other recent enhancement projects along the strip, including construction of new police and court operations at the Municipal Complex and the renovation and re-opening of the Rapids Theatre.
“This is one of several projects that is going on on Main Street and part of the change in this city that is going to make it so much better and so much stronger,” said state Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, D-Lewiston.
