By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — The new $6 million long-term care facility slated for construction in Limestone was given the green light for ground breaking last week by Davis Long Term Care Group (DLTCG) CEO and Owner Chad Cloutier during a celebratory gathering at the project site on Sept. 13.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
What is now a rolling farm field just off of Route 89 in Limestone will soon be the site of the estimated $6 million residential treatment facility Rising Hill LLC of the Davis Long Term Care Group. Gathering at the lot on Sept. 13 to celebrating the new project were, from left, general contractor Dana Littlefield of W.W. Littlefield Inc. and Sons out of Hartland; Senior Project Manager of Bangor-based WBRD Architecture and Engineering Dan Miller, State Sen. Troy Jackson (D-Allagash), Davis Long Term Care Group CEO and Owner Chad Cloutier, Limestone Manor Administrator Sharon Labreck, Limestone Town Manager Donna Bernier, Limestone Manor Resident Care Director Edie Kinney and Limestone Manor Care Manager Pam King.
The Davis Long Term Care Group, based out of Rockland, currently runs the 40-bed Limestone Manor facility on Church Street and 10 other long-term care facilities across the state; the Limestone Manor was the only remaining DLTCG facility that hadn’t yet received renovation or replacement.
The new Route 89-adjacent facility, located just behind the old doctors’ office building and the Greater Limestone/Caswell Historical Society, has been years in the making and will feature 36 beds, private rooms, most rooms with private baths and a whole lot of living space for residents to enjoy.
As long as Mother Nature plays fair this winter, Cloutier and general contractor Dana Littlefield of W.W. Littlefield Inc. and Sons of Hartland believe that the facility will be open-house ready in summer of 2013.
Cloutier’s favorite feature of the new facility is the increased privacy afforded to each resident.
“I think [privacy] is extremely important to [residents],” Cloutier explained. “We want to age in place and we also want to age with dignity and have the proper privacy that we’ve had in our own homes.”
The new Rising Hill building was designed not only to accommodate residents’ desire for privacy, it was carefully placed to provide the scenic outdoor views Aroostook County’s famous for.
According to Daniel Miller, senior project manager of Bangor-based WBRD Architecture and Engineering, the building was moved uphill during the design stages to offer a better view of the fields and tree line.
“The original site was so low on the hillside that you’d look right into the trees, so it was a big move and a commitment on [Cloutier’s] part to move the building further uphill to provides residents scenic views, and then we designed the building around the views,” Miller explained. “We wanted residents to be able to experience the joys of outdoors and nature — even if they couldn’t get outside, they could still experience it through the windows.”
Given the new facility’s proximity to Limestone’s downtown area, Miller and the 15-20 individuals who designed the building worked hard to maintain a warm and welcoming feel for the facility.
“We didn’t want to overpower the community and the houses around it, so we created little breakout areas to change up the roofline so [the building] didn’t look like a mass,” Miller said.
Aesthetically and practically, Limestone Town Manager Donna Bernier said that she is very excited about the new boarding home.
“They are going to start construction very, very soon and I think the community itself is going to be excited about it,” she said.
Cloutier cited the people of Limestone and the long history the Limestone Manor has had with the town as two reasons why his firm decided to build the brand-new facility in town.
“Despite the many years of wanting to build a new facility, we’ve been patient and they’ve been gracious to us,” Cloutier said. “We think this area has a lot of great potential.”
Cloutier also praised the land’s former owners and the town for their assistance with the project.
“The Weatherheads [James and Kathy] owned this property before us, and something should be said for them — they were very gracious in working with us to get the land at a reasonable cost, plus the town of Limestone is going to reimburse us the cost of the land [upon the completion of the project],” Cloutier said. “Both the Weatherheads and the Town of Limestone worked real hard to make this happen.”
Littlefield explained that the project is starting early enough in the fall to get the foundation laid and the underground plumbing set.
“Basically, you’re looking at a 12-month project,” he explained.
Of course, working through a Limestone winter is nothing new to Littlefield, who spent much of last winter working over at the Loring Commerce Centre.
