Discuss items in the urban core outside of Downtown as described above. Everything in the core including the east side (18th & Vine area), Northeast, Plaza, Westport, Brookside, Valentine, Waldo, 39th street, & the entire midtown area.
Saint Luke’s Hospice meets fundraising goal, plans to start construction
Sadly, this will require the demolition of the old mansion on that property--formerly housing the Cresthaven Nursing Home.
First, the site must be cleared. Demolition of the property on the west side of Southwest Trafficway between 35th and 37th Streets, the long-vacant site of the former Cresthaven Nursing Home, is slated for late this month or early next month. The facility, intended to serve patients at the end of life who can’t be cared for adequately at home, is expected to open in the summer of 2013.
Is this the mansion across from the Norman School? Dang, I loved that house. Why can't they build on one of the vacant lots across the street and to the North? Those locations have better road access as well.
smh wrote:Wish it was a little more urban or dense in its design. However, it being a hospice and all I sort of get why it's designed like it is.
This is once midtown site where I'm glad it's not any more urban or dense. This is a residential plot with a cool backyard leading to the cliffs at the start of Roanoke Park. Having the Trafficway as your main road sucks. I don't see why they can't just redo the house that is already there and incorporate it as the center of a new building. Just add wings on the side. Luckily that house is not as beautiful or interesting as the houses in the rest of Roanoke...not a huge loss. Not a big fan of the giant parking lot, but I guess it's better on that side than the park side.
I wish we could make it harder and less attractive to tear down older structures in KC. Anything over 50 years old (besides maybe gas stations, etc) should have to go through an approval process. Incentives could be given to selected projects. The jury would comb through proposals and study properties that were obviously worth a second life. This would keep an eye on development in KC, making sure we don't lose more of our city's identity in the future. Tear-downs are being proposed a lot these days.
I've been in the old "mansion" in question....Its a DUMP! All finishes have been stripped out of the building. Roof leaks, floors buckling, etc.....total piece of crap.....get the picture?
It's about time that thing came down!
The problem with this site is that it's split between the Roanoke neighborhood and Coleman Highlands. Literally right down the middle of the site. Very difficult to get both groups to sign-off on any potential re-development of the site. Hoepfully St. Luke's can pull it off. I'd rather have them there than the site sit vacant for another 20+ years!
Midtownkid wrote:Not a big fan of the giant parking lot, but I guess it's better on that side than the park side.
Moving parking to the back would be a huge, huge improvement. I was looking at the site last night and it's about 4' above SW Trfy grade. The current building fits well on the site, and while I'm not complaining about the density, I do think that the combination of the grade, the front parking lot, and the low building toward the back of the site will make the parked cars the most prominent thing about the development.
Guys, it's a fucking hospice facility. A place where people go to gracefully pass away. single story hospitals for people, many of whom can no longer walk.
As designed, the facility promotes the "cool backyard leading to the cliffs at the start of Roanoke Park" as a tranquil place for the chapel. A place where these people can look out their windows and be at peace. Putting a parking lot out there would basically sandwich this building between a surface lot and highly congested Roanoke. Better for streetfront density. Worse for the hospice patients.
I wish the home could be saved. But, let's be honest, that house has been dilapidated for years and nobody from the private sector has ponied up to buy it, rehab it, and get it back on the market.
KC-wildcat wrote: But, let's be honest, that house has been dilapidated for years and nobody from the private sector has ponied up to buy it, rehab it, and get it back on the market.
Yeah, I'm not complaining about hospice. I'm complaining about them sticking a parking lot right out in front. I refuse to believe that the argument is between the parking going in the front or hospice patients have a shitty end of life.
Yeah, I'm not complaining about hospice. I'm complaining about them sticking a parking lot right out in front. I refuse to believe that the argument is between the parking going in the front or hospice patients have a shitty end of life.
First time poster here. I figured I chime in on this. My wife is a nurse for St Lukes Hospice and I have volunteered for much of the fundraising events for the house. This is a project that has been in planning for quite a while and many locations on both sides of the state line were considered.
The aforementioned post referencing hospice nurses is dead on. They are a different breed. Their mission to calm and comfort a patient in a way contradicts the heal and fight training that they received in nursing school. Many evenings my wife has been alerted to a death call where she'll drive to some rough areas to comfort the family and get processes started. Leaving that kind of work at work takes a different type of person. Bringing hospice into this setting has been a dream for the organization. There's a HUGE demand for it in a city that lacks hospice houses. I'm positive every bed will fill the day it opens.
Instead of choosing this location and tearing down the mansion, why didn't they redevelop the beautiful old school right across the street? It's an all stone building with much more space and would have the same or better views than the current proposal.
Converting an existing building into a medical facility is not cost effective at all. This is a private organization that has been raising money to go along with a matching grant from the Mabee Foundation. They're not exactly sitting on piles of money.
chaglang wrote:Yeah, I'm not complaining about hospice. I'm complaining about them sticking a parking lot right out in front. I refuse to believe that the argument is between the parking going in the front or hospice patients have a shitty end of life.
It's the idea that placing parking in the back would eliminate the serene, natural setting that is currently designed. Parking in back would surround this facility with concrete. Parking in front would not.
beautyfromashes wrote:Instead of choosing this location and tearing down the mansion, why didn't they redevelop the beautiful old school right across the street? It's an all stone building with much more space and would have the same or better views than the current proposal.
I'm not an architect, but it seems like most nursing facilities for the elderly are single story. Because approximately 0% can climb stairs. I'd imagine it's much more practical and inexpensive to build single story facilities.
