Hickman Friends in West Chester building new senior home
The Hickman Friends Senior Community of West Chester filed a preliminary bond offering statement to borrow $18.85 million to build a 74-unit personal care home, with 22 units dedicated to seniors with Alzheimer's, dementia, and other memory illnesses.
The new facility will replace Hickman's 120-year-old Sharpless-Hall building, which had 28 personal care units. It was demolished in June. Hickman, which was founded in 1891 as a Quaker boarding home, also has 40 personal care units in a building that will remain in operation, bringing Hickman's total to 114 when the project is completed late next year.
Nearly 10 percent of Hickman's residents had to be transferred to more secure facilities last year because of wandering and other high-risk behaviors, according to the offering statement.
Construction of the new facility is expected to cost $12.69 million. More than $5 million of the borrowed money will go to pay for start-up losses, marketing costs, interest on the bonds through June 2018, and a reserve fund. The tax-exempt organization is expected to contribute $3.45 million in equity to the project.
