Heritage Retirement Community, Greencastle, expanding with more personal care rooms
Shawn HardyA 35,000-square-foot, three-story addition to Heritage Retirement Community is taking shape overlooking the countryside off Shanks Church Road.
"We're told many times Greencastle people don't want to leave Greencastle," said Becky Hissong, who owns Heritage Hills Retirement Home and Heritage In-Home Care Services with her husband, Brian.
The construction comes as the two entities are being rebranded as Heritage Retirement Community, with the new website heritageofgreencastle.com
The project is the first phase as they look to fill the different needs of people who want to stay in the community as they grow older.
"Our mission is to provide continuity of care and personalized attention while building caring relationships between our Heritage family and the people we serve," the website says.
Personal care in the Greencastle community
"We've been talking and planning so long. You gotta pinch yourself," said Hissong. "The community is asking for it ... there's nothing else like this in Greencastle."
The project at 2256 Shanks Church Road was approved by Antrim Township in September 2019, funding was in place and then COVID-19 hit in March 2020. Ground was finally broken on Oct. 22, 2021, for the addition to the 6,500-square-foot personal care home they've owned for 16 years.
The older building has 17 private and semi-private rooms with shared bathrooms. The addition includes 25 private rooms each with a bathroom and kitchenette.
Services at the personal care home are tailored to residents' needs. Some are independent and have their own vehicle, but don't want to live alone. Others need assistance with daily living — such as feeding, dressing and bathing — or have dementia or Alzheimer's disease, but don't require a lockdown facility.
The project includes a new kitchen in the original building, where the dining room will double in size as it is extended into the addition to the south.
There will be common areas on the two residential floors and, to the back, a great room with a fireplace and two sets of double doors leading onto a deck. The addition follows the hilly topography and the lower level will be visible from the east but not the west. It will feature a fitness room, multi-purpose media room, salon, country and convenience gift store, an in-house exam room, employee lounge and the in-home care offices.
Work, with Eagle Construction as the general contractor, is expected to be finished in August. Hissong said about 10 people will be added to the staff.
In the big picture, the Hissongs with a few investors, are looking at another residential addition and eventually cottages over the next five to seven years.
A waiting list is being started and more information is available at 717-593-0334.
Shawn Hardy is a reporter with Gannett's Franklin County newspapers in south-central Pennsylvania — the Echo Pilot in Greencastle, The Record Herald in Waynesboro and the Public Opinion in Chambersburg. She has more than 35 years of journalism experience. Reach her at shardy@gannett.com