April 23, 2020 —It’s been a busy past few months on the Kendal at Lexington campus as renovation and new construction projects reached milestones and made significant progress.

“We’re at the peak of construction right now where almost every part of the project is under construction — all of the additions, the interior renovations and the cottages,” says Julia Skare, who serves as the owner representative for the expansion. “Things are going very well.”

But what, exactly, does “peak of construction” actually mean? Julia gave us a detailed update on the progress, location by location.

Click here for drone footage from early June.

Sunrise Ridge Cottages

 If you remember from Executive Director Mina Tepper’s April’s update, progress on the Sunrise Ridge Cottages was going well and on schedule — and luckily, that continues to be true!

“There’s currently activity on all 30 of the independent living cottages,” Julia says. “Some are in the footing stages, while the first set of cottages [planned to be released in September] is getting cabinetry installed.”

Since the addition of the cottages are obviously the biggest change to Kendal at Lexington’s campus, Julia says this progress is especially exciting to watch. “You can actually start to visualize the final product,” she says.

Borden Health Center

 The room renovations in the Borden Health Center are nearing completion, with all of the rooms in the 400 and 500 hall already completed and re-occupied. “Now we’re in the 600 hall and starting renovations of rooms there,” Julia says. “We hope that the first spa (bathing area) and medicine rooms will be available early next month.”

Plus, according to Julia, the process continues to get smoother and smoother with every completed section of 12 rooms. “The first 12 took a little bit longer, the next 12 a little less, and by the latest set of 12, we — including architects, engineers, contractors and Kendal staff — all had the system down. It went smoother each time,” she said.

The first Borden household is expected to be substantially complete by September.

Webster Assisted Living

 Residents may have noticed that the new north entrance of Webster recently opened. The new entrance, located where the old clinic area used to be, also now holds two new offices. This progress allowed for the previous entrance to close so renovations and expansion could begin in Assisted Living.

Anderson Dining Room

 The expansion and renovation in Anderson Dining Room is also underway and making progress. While this project is in the early stages, Julia says the crew is working on setting groundwork for the Dining Room expansion and demolishing the existing areas for renovation.

“Ask Julia”

With all the changes around the Kendal community, Julia says one of her main priorities is keeping residents informed throughout the process. “One of the residents asked me to be available once a month to answer questions,” she says. And thus, monthly “Ask Julia” presentations were born.

Held in Kendal Hall, Julia says the presentations are “exactly like they sound.” She begins with an update — often showcased through a recent drone video taken by the contractor — and then talks through the phase of each area of construction.

“It’s been great,” she says. “Usually, at the end, there’s a one-on-one where people will ask a specific question about an area that impacts them.”

And throughout the process, Julia says the residents and staff have been more than accommodating and understanding of all the changes. “They’ve been wonderful,” she says. “All that they have done and their patience during the construction — it’s been great getting to know a lot of them.”

As progress becomes visible and projects near completion, it’s becoming quite the exciting time around Kendal at Lexington. Stay tuned for future updates!

To learn more about the amenities on the Kendal at Lexington campus, contact us.