PORT ANGELES — Park View Villas will christen a new atrium this holiday season.
The sunlit enclosure in the heart of the retirement and assisted living community will serve as a meeting space and expanded dining room for residents and their guests.
The nearly completed atrium is the third and final phase of a two-year, $475,000 overhaul of the 23-year-old facility in west Port Angeles.
“I know I can’t wait until it’s done,” said John LeClerc, Park View Villas’ executive director.
“It’s going to be gorgeous.”
The 700-square-foot, carpeted atrium will replace a rarely used concrete courtyard. The atrium is surrounded by the main office, dining room, wellness room and activity center.
A large roll-up door, similar to the one at Port Angeles City Hall, will separate the atrium from the meeting room during meals.
The door will be opened for meetings and large community activities.
“When we open up the door, it will be one huge room,” LeClerc said.
“We need an area that’s bigger for entertainment. We also do a lot of special events, and we’re finding ourselves too crowded.”
With 87 assisted living apartments and 20 cottages with a 97 percent occupancy, Park View Villas recently opened a wellness center and laundry facility that can accommodate commercial equipment.
“We grew out of the wellness center, which was half the size of the new one,” LeClerc said.
The old wellness center is being turned into a private dining room. It will be open before Thanksgiving.
The atrium should be done by Christmas, LeClerc said.
Increase in residents
A twofold increase in residents who get nursing services prompted the expansion.
Park View Villas also added new landscaping and furniture and tile floors for its commons area.
The atrium — designed by Simply Simpatico of Federal Way — is being built by Hoch Construction of Port Angeles.
The architect was Lindberg & Smith Architects of Port Angeles.
“We couldn’t have done these projects without the outstanding professionalism and expertise of Bill Lindberg’s architectural team and Rick Hoch’s construction crew,” LeClerc said.
LeClerc said later that the architectural plans were approved by the state Department of Health within 10 days.
“I’ve done this 25 years, 30 years, and I’m telling you that’s a long process,” he said. “Sometimes, it takes up to eight months to get approvals.
“That just shows how good they are.”
The expanded dining room will allow Park View Villas staff to serve meals in one sitting rather than back-to-back.
LeClerc said most residents have been “thrilled” with the community at 1430 Park View Ln., kitty- corner to Shane Park.
He added that the private dining room will be available to the general public for meetings.
Park View Villas has licensed staff available at all hours to assist residents with their daily activities. Services include bathing, dressing, medication management and mobility.
Park View also offers exercise classes, games and social events seven days a week.
The theme for this month is “Viva Mexico,” with a guacamole cooking class, quesadilla social and mariachi entertainment on the calendar.
The community is managed by Village Concepts, a third-generation, family-owned company with 13 retirement and assisted living centers throughout the Puget Sound, Olympic Peninsula and Central Washington.
Pictured: John LeClerc, executive director of Park View Villas in Port Angeles, describes the features of an enclosed atrium at the retirement and assisted living center that will expand the dining area for residents. — Photo by Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News