SIDNEY — After nearly three years of planning and budgeting, Fair Haven made significant progress on March 7 by demolishing Cedar Hall.
Cedar Hall was one of the oldest wings in Fair Haven’s building, and it has been uninhabited for the past few years, and been prepared for demolition for months. This is an important moment for many residents, who have eagerly anticipated watching some old walls come down and new ones go up.
The new addition will be built where Cedar Hall once stood, but will be much larger and better equipped to meet the various needs of future residents: private rooms with contemporary amenities, improved Wi-Fi access, updated dining and activity areas, etc.
According to the contract, Thomas & Marker, the Bellefontaine-based company that won the general contractor bid, has one year from the date of construction to finish the addition, with exceptions for bad weather or other conditions.
Once the new addition is complete, residents from other halls of Fair Haven will move into the addition and into existing Buckeye Hall in order to empty Arbor Hall, which will become our new memory care wing. This will allow us to also close Timber Hall, the other oldest wing in the building.
We have planned significant interior renovations to make Arbor Hall into a safe and engaging space for our former Timber Hall residents. No new construction will be done there because Arbor Hall is the newest part of Fair Haven.
The building project has been in a planning and development phase for the past two years. Our partners at Freytag & Associates did an incredible job and offered so many necessary resources. We are very proud of the work they have done, and continue to do, on this project.
Fair Haven is grateful to Commissioners Julie Ehemann, Robert Guillozet, and Tony Bornhorst for their consistent support of Fair Haven and their dedication toward protecting the future of the Shelby County Home.
We are fortunate to have several healthy county homes as our associates, including Riverview (Ottawa County) and the Butler County Care Facility. It is refreshing to be led by a Board of Commissioners passionate about keeping Fair Haven healthy and competitive for decades, and hopefully centuries, to come.
