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Housing designed to handle all facets of a senior’s needs
The Gables of Hudson project is being built on Darrow Road in Hudson at the site of the former Waters restaurant. Developers expect to break ground on the facility in 2012, with the goal of opening it in 2013. It will initially have 83 units, but once it is open, the facility will be expanded to include 116 units in a second phase.
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: August 25, 2011
As the elderly population continues to increase and live longer, so does the need for senior housing and assisted care facilities. About six years ago, real estate developer Mike Wojno set out to create a development in northeast Ohio that would accommodate seniors with various lifestyle and medical needs.
“There are different phases in the continuum of care in the senior world,” said Wojno, chief executive officer of Gables Management Company Inc. and Wojno Development LLC, which invested in KentRidge at Golden Pond in Kent when it opened in 2005.
“We are an assisted living facility that specializes in senior lifestyle services and special care. We allow our residents to age in place, offering additional care as it is needed. It provides a more seamless environment.”
Located at 5241 Sunnybrook Rd., KentRidge has 91 units, including 23 that offer specialized help for people who have conditions like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease as well as those in need of hospice care.
“We try to address all the needs a senior may have, including those of caregivers. I have a particularly empathetic point of view since my mother is a resident of KentRidge, and I have an elderly uncle that requires significant home care. I’m 56, and my goal over the next 20 years is to figure out all the needs a senior might have so that when I get there I will be taken care of properly.”
“One of the things that makes us (KentRidge) different is that the owners are here in the building every single day and I think the residents and the families really like that,” said Genel Nichols, director of marketing and sales at KentRidge. “People are not only living longer, they also want to live better. They want good medical care, but they are looking for recreational activities and social events, and that is what we offer.”
Ninety-four-year-old Madeline Mahan said the host of activities is one of the reasons she chose KentRidge.
“I had heard about the place from friends of mine who were living there and I decided to look into it,” said Mahan, who moved to the facility from Ravenna in July 2006. “I participate in everything.” Mahan, who is a member of the traveling volleyball team, said she also plays cards, takes arts and crafts classes and enjoys the exercise program.
“It keeps you occupied, and if you have medical needs, they are taken care of,” said Mahan.
Wojno, who once devoted his efforts to putting up residential housing developments, said what he is doing now is more satisfying. “It’s the first time I have ever been thanked for helping someone who was also paying for the services.”
With 90 residents, KentRidge continues to draw interest from seniors in the area. Wojno is hoping for a similar result in Hudson, where he and his partners are designing a new 83-unit facility on Darrow Road at the site of the former Waters restaurant.
“The same philosophy and service level that is part of KentRidge will be used at our Hudson facility,” said Sandy Warner, chief executive officer at KentRidge.
Wojno said they expect to break ground on the Hudson facility in 2012, with the goal of opening it in 2013. Once it is open, the facility will be expanded to include 116 units in a second phase. He is also working toward opening ClearPath Home Health & Hospice in Green, Ohio, which will address the needs of those who are not ready to move into an assisted care facility, allowing them to stay independent as long as possible.
In the case of his latest endeavors he won’t be going it alone. His daughter, Katie Wojno Lancianese, is coordinating the Gables of Hudson project, and his son-in-law, Anthony Lancianese, is vice president of operations at ClearPath.
“I have been working in health care for a long time,” said Anthony. “This company will be very service-oriented, so it’s more than just a job. The employees will be going into people’s homes, doing their shopping, etc. If the person needs a service we do not offer, we will direct them and guide them so they can receive the best care possible. The goal is to create a seamless and ‘clear path’ to peace of mind.”
“I believe we are filling an important niche in Hudson,” said Katie, director of development at Wojno Development, the parent company of Gables Management. “If you look at the demographics here there are more seniors, who need assistance. We want to keep people active and functional as long as possible, so they have a better quality of life. My grandmother is in the Kent facility right now, and it has made me intimately aware of the customer service side of things.
“It’s also exciting to be working on this project with my father,” said Katie. “We have been working together since I have been out of college.”
Wojno does have quite a few more plans before that day comes. His goal is to build three more assisted living facilities in northeast Ohio for a grand total of five, as well as to expand ClearPath so that people throughout the Midwest use its services.
“We are looking for investors since these projects are capital intensive and the lending market is not what it used to be,” said Wojno.