TIFFIN - Bryan Glover can hardly restrain himself as he pulls up to the sprawling, Georgian Revival mansion on Tiffin's north side.
"Every time I come up here, I'm tickled," the executive director of the Seneca County Commission on Aging says, guiding his car around the circular driveway in front of the giant red-brick structure, which dates to 1930. "You can see a lot of potential in there. It's exciting."
The commission is working with a Columbus development firm, Woda Group, to refurbish the former national home of the Daughters of America into a senior citizen apartment complex called Coventry House. The $3.5 million project, which began two months ago, will carve 30 one, two, and three-bedroom units out of the building's 32,000 square feet.
The commission and Woda also are building another senior apartment complex behind the landmark. Devon House, also estimated to cost $3.5 million, will offer a similar number of apartments.
The new apartments will be the second and third senior housing developments on the 52-acre site that includes Tall Trees, a 50-apartment development erected by Woda and the commission on aging in the late 1990s.
Tom Simonis, vice president of acquisitions for Woda, said the company had several reasons for
taking on the rehabilitation project.
"It's a beautiful building, a lot of historic value," he said. "It's in a beautiful setting. It made sense to stay in the neighborhood."
The former national home of the Daughters of America was once a grand retirement facility for the patriotic society's members, who lived there from 1930 to 1989. The building was redeveloped in the mid 1990s as a pro shop and clubhouse for a nine-hole golf course that was built on the 52-acre site along the Sandusky River, but that venture closed several years ago, and decay set in.
Yet the building's former grandeur is still visible beneath the grime and debris. Standing in the foyer, Mr. Glover points to the black-and-white marble floor and the etched glass panels that frame the front door. He walks across a hallway and into a large, rectangular sitting room that features a fireplace and tall, double-hung windows that provide a panoramic view of the lush, tree-covered property.
"This is my favorite part back here," Mr. Glover said. "This will be kind of an open communal area."
Work crews are tearing out the walls that used to divide the living areas into 9-foot by 14-foot rooms and erecting studs and steel framing for new bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens.
The commission on aging and Woda are financing the Coventry House and Devon House projects in part through $1.5 million in federal tax credits for each project.
As it does with Tall Trees, Woda will own and operate the new facilities. The commission on aging will collect a $30,000 consultant's fee for each project plus $3,000 a year per facility for providing transportation, housekeeping services, and Meals on Wheels to residents.
Mr. Glover said the projects benefit the commission, which gets revenue for providing services it offers anyway, and low-to-moderate income seniors, who can rent apartments at affordable rates.
At Tall Trees, for instance, rents range from $295 a month for a one-bedroom unit to $425 for a three-bedroom apartment. To qualify, a single person must have annual income of $20,460 or less.
The developments appeal to healthy seniors who want compansionship and the ability to enjoy an active lifestyle, Mr. Glover said.
"The senior today is so different from the senior 20 years ago," he said. "They're on the Internet, they're participating in aerobics. At Tall Trees, I would say 40 to 50 percent of the residents still have jobs. It's a place where people go to live, not to die."
Contact Steve Murphy at:
smurphy@theblade.com
or 419-724-6078.
First Published April 22, 2004, 11:55 a.m.
