St. Clara’s passes the keys to Fifth Street facility to Lincoln College

 

[August 24, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

On Wednesday morning, history changed in Lincoln as the legacy of St. Clara’s Manor and St. Clara’s Hospital came to an end on Fifth Street in Lincoln. But the end of an era marked a new beginning, a new era and a legacy that will grow in the coming years.

The building located on Fifth Street was officially donated to Lincoln College. In the near future the building will be repurposed into a student living center. The location creates an opportunity for the college to continue its growth in the community by enhancing its ability to offer housing for out-of-area students.

On February 14, 2018, the residents of St. Clara’s Manor were relocated to the new St. Clara’s Rehab and Senior Care facility on the city’s west side. The board at that time announced that the former St. Clara’s would be given to Lincoln College. Since that time, work has been ongoing to complete the transaction. On Wednesday the final paper work was signed and the keys were handed over to college president Dr. David Gerlach by St. Clara’s Board President Clyde Reynolds.

The official ceremony took place at St. Clara’s. Dr. Gerlach opened the ceremony thanking those in attendance, then spoke about how the donation came about.

He said that all the credit was due to LC trustee Quentin Sparks. He recounted the day Sparks came to his office to ask if Gerlach had read an article published about St. Clara’s. In that article St. Clara’s board president Clyde Reynolds had stated that the future of the old St. Clara’s building was unknown.

“So, I met with Clyde, and said Clyde, we're growing, we’re expanding, we need housing space. How about giving me St. Clara’s Manor. And to my surprise Clyde said, ‘Well that would save me money from tearing it down. It would add $1.2 million to your balance sheet, you could take all the furniture…and the deal started processing from there.” Gerlach went on to say it took a while to get through all the legalities, but it has finally all come together, with much credit due to Sparks.

Gerlach went on to mention that the St. Clara’s facility has great memories for several within the Lincoln College community. He mentioned board member and LC graduate Brenda Chapman, who was in recent years granted an honorary doctorate from LC, worked at St. Clara’s while in high school.

He went on to say he felt that St. Clara’s was going to add a new dynamic to the school's housing program. He said the building would be open to upper classmen and that it would give them a new sense of community as they lived within walking distance of downtown.

Gerlach then handed the floor over to St. Clara’s Board President Clyde Reynolds. Reynolds said that he wasn’t keen on public speaking, and had struggled with what to say because there was so much that could be said, and he had worked to edit his talk to a reasonable amount of time. He said among other things, there was not time to properly acknowledge the many board members, nor would he have time to talk about the new facilities as he could speak for hours on that fine facility alone. He also said he would not be able to give justice to comments about the St. Clara’s staff.

He said what he did want to do was talk about the Fifth Street facility. He said that walking through the building after the move was a “bittersweet thing.” “I walked through here as the auction was going on and the building was empty, it was like an episode of the Twilight Zone, you could hear the voices speaking to you.” He went on to say though that he was very excited to have the building remain an important part of the community. He was excited to hand the keys over to Dr. Gerlach and Lincoln College, and know that the building has a vital place in the community for years to come.

Reynolds then handed over the large ring of keys to the building to Dr. Gerlach.

Reynolds then asked that board member Tonita Reifsteck step up and say a few words. Reifsteck has been a big part of St. Clara’s for years. She and her husband, the late Wallace Reifsteck, ministered to the residents of St. Clara’s, and also Wallace served on the board early in the history of the Manor. Tonita serves on the board now. Both Tonita and Wallace volunteered at St. Clara’s, plus her father-in-law and father were both residents at St. Clara’s, and their daughter worked at St. Clara’s as an intern.

Reifsteck noted that Lincoln College came to be in the 1860’s and in 1886 a hospital was built on the site where everyone now stood. St. Clara’s Hospital served the community until 1970 when it became St. Clara’s Manor. She said, “From that time on, we cared for families, and we became a family. And now a new family moves in. I hope the community and the people in this area will give them the respect and the friendship that we have enjoyed all these years as a facility that cares about and for people.”

Next to speak was Quentin Brackenridge, the LC Director of Residential Life. Brackenridge began saying he was grateful for the gift to Lincoln College. He said, “The mission of the Office of Residential Life is to create a sense of community by providing a safe, inclusive and well-managed living environment that complements and supports the academic and social goals of Lincoln College.”

Brackenridge said that he and the Director of Student Engagement, Zach Landers, had walked through the building many times, and had the ability to envision the space and how it would be utilized to fill the mission of their offices. He noted that it was an amazing, “We are so excited to occupy this facility. There are a lot of things we have in mind for this facility.” He went on to add that there would be a full time professional staff member living on site, there would be student Resident Assistants living in the building as well.

Brackenridge went on saying that when the topic of moving into St. Clara’s came about, he personally was not familiar with the Fifth Street area. He said he came into the area one day to look around, and actually found a house just within a couple of blocks of St. Clara’s and has since moved into that home. He said that worked out very well because it puts him in close proximity to the new resident facility.

When Brackenridge finished speaking, members of the Lincoln College Trustees and Board were asked to join members of the St. Clara’s Board behind the table as Reynolds and Dr. Gerlach officially signed the transfer documents. Gerlach noted that this was the real thing, and Notary Public, Kathy Papech, would witness and notarize the documents as they were signed.

After a few moments for photo opportunities, the event came to a conclusion.

Lincoln College was founded in 1865 as a four-year-university. It served the community as such until 1929 when it became a two-year degree private college. In recent years, the college administration and trustees have been working to bring the college back to its university status offering as of 2018, twelve bachelor’s degrees. Wednesday, Dr. Gerlach shared that his Vice-president Dr. Hamin Shabazz is preparing to within the next month submit applications for two additional bachelor degrees, as well as two master degree programs including masters of business and of criminal justice.

The college plans to invest about $2 million in renovations at the former St. Clara’s Manor, initially adding between 65 and 80 beds to the school’s existing stock of residence halls. Regular shuttle service between the facility and the campus will keep the impact on traffic to a minimum. Off-street parking will also be provided for students that do have their own vehicles. As with all of Lincoln College’s current campus housing options, meal service will be provided and there will be no kitchens in individual units.

The construction timetable has not yet been determined, but will be phased to align with the school’s projected housing needs.

[Nila Smith with excerpts from Mark Gordon, Lincoln College]