By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
After nearly 40 years, the senior-living complex at Conifer Village is getting a facelift. The owners of the 199-unit complex, which is located off Downer Street, are upgrading the bathrooms, kitchens, community center and more for the modern era.
Attorneys for the Baldwinsville Senior Housing Preservation, LLC, and ReGen Advisors, LLC, detailed the renovations for the Messenger.
“The property hasn’t had major capital improvements since it was originally built,” said Eliot Reid, principal at the ReGen Advisors affordable real estate firm. “We’re going to be able to upgrade the fixtures, the energy efficiency of their apartments, and we’re going to bring more modern amenities to a 40-year-old community.”
The renovations will be done in four to five stages over 12 months.
“We hope to start this fall,” Reid said.
Kevin McAuliffe, of the Barclay Damon law firm, represents the developers, Baldwinsville Senior Housing Preservation, LLC. He said crews will come in and work on several kitchens at once, and then several bathrooms, and so on.
“The concept is that no one will be displaced from their unit for more than a few hours at a time,” McAuliffe said.
Conifer Village is made up of 199 one-bedroom units. Reid said the complex is at capacity and there is a waiting list for new residents.
Each unit will be repainted and the emergency call button service will be refurbished. Standalone air conditioning units and ceiling lights will be installed in the bedrooms, and living rooms will receive new ceiling fans and lights. In addition, all units will receive the following upgrades:
• Doors and windows: New front entry door, windows, patio doors and interior hardware with lever sets
• Bathrooms: New water closet, sink, faucet, refinished tile and tub, grab bars, mirrored medicine cabinet, exhaust fan and light
• Kitchens: Energy Star-rated refrigerator and stove/oven, laminated countertop, new cabinets and pulls, new fixtures and lights
Improvements to second-floor units will include the installation of non-skid stair treads, emergency stairway lighting with battery backup and doorbells with intercoms.
The renovations also will bring certain units and the community center into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Appliances, countertops, cabinets and bathrooms will be modified in ADA units to meet current standards. Exterior walkways and interior doors will be widened.
“We’re making them more usable for folks with mobility impairments to age in place,” Reid said.
The project will include exterior upgrades as well. Thirteen of the 21 buildings at Conifer Village will receive new roofs, including gutters and downspouts. Sidewalks outside several of the buildings will be re-poured and exterior steps will be repaired at six second-floor units. A snow fence and Plexiglas snow barriers will be installed, and drainage improvements will be added between buildings 13 and 18. New vinyl siding will replace aluminum siding and the property will receive a new street-front sign.
The community center will undergo a makeover, too. The building will be brought up to current ADA standards and 1,500 square feet of meeting/event space will be added. Other community center additions include a secured computer lab with two workstations and a printer, a dedicated fitness/stretch area and more space for offices, storage, games and the library.
Wi-Fi will be available at the community center once renovations are complete.
“It’s going to bring the facility into a much more modern mode,” McAuliffe said. “Just having it available provides them with a better capability to connect with families that may not be in the immediate area.”
