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The Inter-Mountain photo by Dan Geohagan
From left are Bryson VanNostrand of VanNostrand Architects; Delegate Bill Hartman, D-Randolph; Hoy Ferguson, Davis Trust Company; Hugh Hitchcock, president of Davis Trust Company; Vance Jackson, CEO of Davis Health System; Dave Clark, executive director of the Woodlands Development Group; Sutton Stokes of Woodlands Development Group; Randolph County Commission President Mark Scott; Dr. Mindy Chua of Davis Medical Center; and Karen Jacobson of the Woodlands Development Group.
ELKINS -- Officials from the Woodlands Development Group and Davis Health System took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Grace Davis Residences senior housing development Thursday morning.
The amenities offered at the new facility, located across Gorman Avenue from Davis Medical Center, will include furnished utilities, housekeeping services, security and safety services, transportation, care coordination and a free meal a day from DHS. The building will provide 11 units for senior housing.
"In Elkins, the (overall) population from 2010 to 2017, we increased generally by about 3 percent," Dave Clark, executive director of the Woodlands Development Group, said during the ceremony. "The population of that, that was between 65 to 75 (years of age) was 29 percent. That is a huge number. so a lot of us realized what was going on and that we needed to get our heads together to find what services and housing we needed to service the growing senior population."
Grace Davis Residences being so close to Davis Medical Center will also provide accessibility to doctors as well as the hospital's pharmacy for the seniors.
"I think it is a pretty innovative partnership with Woodlands and the hospital," Clark said. "We are building 11 units of housing on their property. We will be managing the units and the hospital will be providing services."
The facility is named in honor of Sen. Henry Gassaway Davis's daughter, Grace Davis. The logo for the housing development is inspired by the stained glass window from the house that Sen. Davis built for his daughter. The now-125-year-old stained glass window will be included in the new facility.
With Elkins' first brick yard not existing until 1902, the home was considered to be the first brick residence built in Elkins.
The home exchanged ownership several times over the years, before it was demolished in 2007 for the construction of Walgreens.
Seniors and families are already reaching out to Woodlands for openings at the Grace Davis Residences, officials said. For more information, call 304-636-6495.