Description
St. Lawrence O’Toole Gardens is an existing two-story building constructed in 1909, used as an elementary school until 1980, and then used for a short time as a community center. Before the start of the construction of this project, it had been unoccupied since approximately 1985. It is now revived as a senior care center.
The project is comprised of the existing 11,846 square foot building and a new two-story 8,032 square foot addition, for a total building square footage of 19,878. There are a total of 35 living units. The building has two monumental stairs, two enclosed stairwells, and an elevator.
Other features include a full-service kitchen, main dining room, private dining room, spa therapy room, theater room with a 60-inch flat-screen TV and surround sound, laundry room in a partial basement in the existing building, library area, and sitting areas on both floors of the new addition. The chapel is a particular room featuring an existing stained glass window that has been refinished and is all original.
The existing building shell is constructed of multi-wythe brick with wall thicknesses of 14 inches to 18 inches. The new addition is wood frame construction with brick veneer and limestone accent band and window sills to complement and coordinate with the existing building. The new addition has wood I-Joists with a wood subfloor. The existing building has a new asphalt shingle roof, while the new expansion has an EPDM flat roof with asphalt shingle mansard roofs to follow the slope of the existing roof.
The existing building’s interior walls are constructed of metal stud partitions and metal furring over existing walls, while the new addition’s interior walls are built of wood stud partitions. The ceilings are suspended drywall with some accent areas of suspended acoustical tile. The monumental stairways have been refinished, and new tongue and groove wood flooring have been replaced at both stairways’ intermediate landings. In keeping with the original look, a spray texture finish was applied at the monumental stairways, an enclosed stairwell, and a hallway with curved walls in the existing building.
There are fully furnished bathrooms in each unit with handicapped standup showers. In addition, the facility has a spa room with a therapy tub with two gas-fired water heaters with a closed-loop circulating pump system that provides constant hot water throughout the building.
The heating and cooling system consist of 15 forced air natural gas furnaces and AC condensing units, insulated metal ductwork, manual dampers, and thermostats.
The facility’s electrical features include fire alarm door security, nurse call system, telephone/cable in all units, surround sound in the theater room, and a radio speaker system in the common areas. In addition, the owner chose light fixtures for the building to keep the historical look.
