|
 The ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m. on the site of
the former senior care center, 200 S. Fifth St. The facility is
being donated by St. Clara’s Senior Services.
Lincoln College plans to convert the now-vacant facility into
housing to meet the needs of the school as it grows its four-year
undergraduate degree programs and prepares to offer post-graduate
degrees.
“We truly appreciate the generosity of St. Clara’s Senior Services
in transferring this facility to Lincoln College,” Lincoln College
President David Gerlach said. “We also appreciate the strong support
that the community showed Lincoln College after we announced our
plans last year and as those plans moved through the city’s review
process.”
“St. Clara’s and Lincoln College share long histories, with the
College dating back to 1865 and the roots of St. Clara’s going back
to 1886, when St. Clara’s Hospital was first conceived,” Clyde
Reynolds, President of the non-profit St. Clara’s Manor, said. “We
pride ourselves on being an extension of the community and see our
new facility as the latest reflection of a tradition of commitment,
sacrifice and caring.
“With the opening of the new St. Clara’s Rehab and Senior Care we
wanted to create a win-win for the community. We needed to grow and
expand our services to meet the needs of the 21st century, but we
did not want to leave a vacant facility in the heart of the city,”
said Reynolds. “This transfer creates that win-win. As Lincoln
College grows, they will be able to adapt this facility to their
needs and assure that it continues to contribute to the vibrancy of
the central business district.”
The new St. Clara’s Rehab and Senior Care facility was constructed
at 1450 Castle Manor Drive in Lincoln, with resident move-in on
February 14, 2018. The new building has 106 beds, many of those
being private rooms, and a modern floor plan layout throughout the
building. There is a state-of-the-art therapy gym, private
short-term rehab patient rooms, and a separate entrance for
outpatient therapy services as well as a designated area for
traditional skilled nursing beds as well as four bariatric private
suites.
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.
[to top of second column] |
The construction timetable has not yet been determined, but will
be phased to align with the school’s projected housing needs.
This will be the second expanded housing project that Lincoln College has
undertaken in the past two years. In 2017, the College renovated a blighted
housing complex adjacent to the school and converted the units into the Lynx
Village apartments for students. That project was made possible by a generous
contribution from the Woods Foundation.
Gerlach noted that an upsurge in commuter students has eased housing pressures
on the College for the 2018-19 school year.
“The number of local students attending Lincoln College has grown significantly
this year,” Gerlach noted. “We couldn’t be more pleased about that, because it
shows that students in Lincoln and Logan County are choosing to continue their
education right here in their home community.”
Gerlach noted that keeping those students attending college locally adds to the
College’s $43 million annual economic impact for the region. The College has
roughly the same economic impact and employment that the Lincoln Developmental
Center had when it closed.
With the Fall 2018 schedule, Lincoln College now offers 12 bachelor’s degree
programs in addition to its traditional associate degree offerings. The College
is also expanding its adult education program, Accelerated Bridge to Education
(ABE), to the Lincoln campus. That brings the ABE program to four central
Illinois campuses in Normal, Peoria, Oglesby and now Lincoln.
“With our expanded degree offerings, our traditional bachelor’s and associate
degree programs, our accelerated adult education program and our plans to begin
offering master’s degrees in the near future, Lincoln College is committed to
making a complete range of higher education services available to the residents
of Logan County,” Gerlach added. “At the same time, this donation will allow us
to continue to attract and house students from across Illinois and from around
the world who are looking for an affordable, high-quality private education in a
diverse environment.”
[Mark Gordon
Public Relations and Media Manager
Lincoln College] |
