Felician Village breaks ground on new facilities

By Helen Clarke, Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC — It was a week ago when the staff at Felician Village uncovered the cornerstones from two major points in the senior living campus' history.

One, from 1888, marks the construction of St. Mary's Home for the aged and orphaned — the first permanent location operated by the Felician Sisters to care for the elderly in the area. The other, from 1954, is evidence of the formation of the current St. Mary's nursing home, a staple on the corners of 21st and Division streets.

On Friday, the emblematic foundation was laid for a 2008 cornerstone — one that seeks to modernize the campus and start a new chapter in the Felician Sisters' commitment to the Manitowoc community.

In a 10:30 a.m. groundbreaking ceremony, Felician Village staff and stakeholders picked up shovels to kickoff the project, three years in the making.

"Shouldn't quality of life issues be as important as quality of care?" asked Pat Kaldor, president and chief executive officer of Felician Village. "We are not building new space that will be more homelike. We are creating home."

The overall plan includes a decrease in the total number of senior housing units by 41 — dropping 81 beds from the nursing home and post-acute rehabilitation unit, and adding 40 to assisted and independent living facilities.

"Our staff is already mourning the loss of some of the space," said Dr. Gary Schmidt, medical director of Felician Village. "But these buildings will rust, and they will mold, and they will fall down if we don't do it ourselves. It isn't bricks and mortar that makes the Felician Village; it is the people."

Also on Friday came the announcement that the Felician Sisters have donated $500,000 to build a new chapel on the Felician Village campus.

"We will continue to serve the Medicare population, we will continue to serve the Medicaid population … and we will continue to serve those who come and ask for our help," said Sister Clarette Stryzewski, president and chief executive officer of Felician Services Inc. "We are truly honored as Felician Sisters to serve you; it is our privilege to take care of you."

Mayor Kevin Crawford also spoke at the gathering, noting a special connection to the Felician community.

"The Felician Sisters took very good care of me in grade school," Crawford said. "They were not shy with their discipline."

He said Sister Stryzewski's mother served as his den mother when he was in Cub Scouts as a child, and his father spent his final days living at Felician Village.

"This has always been … a fixture and an icon for seniors in this community," Crawford said. "As usual, the Felician community … will do an extraordinary job of taking care of the people who have taken care of us."

Berghammer Construction is committed to completing the Felician Village project in an efficient and environmentally responsible way, Senior Vice President George Minnich said. As trees are taken down on campus, he said each one will be turned into mulch for the project.

The overall renovation will be completed in three phases that include demolition, construction and resident relocation. Parking lots, driveways, the nursing home and The Towers will be demolished. Two community-based residential facilities, known as The Villas, will be converted into eight independent-living Gardens apartments.

New construction will include 16 residential care apartment complex units in The Court; two new 16-unit Villas; 20 Next Step post-acute rehabilitation beds; 84 long-term care nursing home beds in four 16-bed households; and a Village Square.

The number of units in The Gardens independent living community will increase from 120 to 128; units in The Court will increase from 32 to 48; units in The Villas will increase from 16 to 32; Next Step beds will decrease from 21 to 20; and nursing home beds will take the biggest hit, from 144 to 64.

In total, about 225,700 square feet of building space will be demolished and replaced by about 107,600 square feet of new construction.

top of page