Moving - Hard Hat Tours

Construction of the building is gaining momentum, as the hardy board is installed outside and the drywall is hung and tiling is put into place inside. Here are some recent pictures, showing the front side with the elevator tower, and the back side with the large porch overlooking the playing field. The tile is being installed in the kitchen and the bathroom. Thanks to Gina, Jamarra, and Sally for all their hard work!

Please join us this Tuesday, December 6 at noon or Thursday, December 8 at noon for a hard hat tour of the first Green House model of long-term nursing care in Maryland. By next spring, the first elders will be moving into the Green House Residences at Stadium Place. If you plan to attend either tour, or need an alternate date, please email tgross@gedco.org.

Green House Residences - Construction Progress Moving Inside

After putting up the steel, the building team is moving inside to work on mechanical, plumbing and electrical lines. Bricklayers are busy on the outside, and windows are now installed around the building. One picture shows the front side of the Green House Residences with small porches next to the elevator shaft. To the right, Memorial Field at the Y/Ripken Field (on the site of the former Memorial Stadium). Top picture shows the labyrinth at ThanksGiving Place, the meditative open space at Stadium Place, as well as the independent living apartments.

Construction is scheduled to be complete in January, with elders moving into their new home in March, 2012.

Green House model Celebrations

Next week Green House adopters from around the nation will gather in Birmingham, Ala., Sept. 7-9 for the Fourth Annual Green House Meeting and Celebration. Many sessions will be broadcast live over the internet, including keynote addresses by Dr. Bill Thomas and Pioneer Network CEO Dr. Peter Reed and a panel of elders who live in Green House homes.

GEDCO, NCB Capital Impact and Catholic Charities, the operator of the Green House Residences, hosted a Community Orientation, Update and Celebration this week, to educate the Baltimore community about the Green House model and celebrate our progress. We expect to complete construction in January and open the building in March, 2012. See www.gedco.org/greenhouse for more information.

The concrete for the fourth floor is now in place. This picture shows the front of the building, with the front porch and hearth area to the left of the elevator shaft. Each floor or Residence will have a porch on each side of the building, to provide easy access to the outdoors. The hearth area and outdoor access are important features of this innovative model of long-term care.

The Building Takes Shape

The construction site is more and more busy these days, with deliveries of steel and equipment. The second floor has been poured, and the concrete blocks are in place for the elevator shaft and the north stairwell. In addition, conduits are being laid for various utilities.

The GEDCO team recently toured the lower level to view its new offices.

Pouring the first floor

After much preparation, the steel deck for the first floor was complete and the concrete was poured this week.

Welding the Steel, Construction Webcam

Construction crews have been busy welding steel to the frame for the lower level. Concrete will be poured for the first floor in the next week.

We now have a webcam with live coverage of the construction site:

http://70.90.90.161/CgiStart?page=Single&Language=0

The feed works without any add-ons in Firefox and Chrome. If you want to use Internet Explorer, it will ask you to download and install an ActiveX control.

The Steel Has Arrived

After a few months of working in the basement, the steel has arrived on site. The crane is ready to start moving steel into position in this first picture, and the first beams are in place in the second picture.

Windows into a New Building

Brick by brick, the Green House Residences building is coming into view. As construction of the lower level of the continues, Mitch Posner talks about the construction project in this short video, filmed by Kavan Peterson, Co-Founder & Editor of ChangingAging.org. These pictures show the windows for the GEDCO offices in the lower level and the start of the utility work in the basement area.

Decade's Top 10 Senior Design Innovations

Thanks to THE GREEN HOUSE PROJECT Blog and Long Term Living magazine's March issue, which rounds up the top 10 senior design innovations that have transformed nursing home and long term care in the past decade. "It's no surprise that The Green House Project not only makes the top 10, but it embodies nearly every other item on the list. Here's a quick synopsis of the top 10 innovations compiled by Margaret P. Calkins, PhD, for Long Term Living."

The list includes intentional elder-friendly communities, smaller is better, THE GREEN HOUSE Project, codifying person-centered care and the household model, private bathrooms are better, eliminating nursing stations and medicine carts, lighted grab bars, and better ceiling lifts.

For more questions about The Green House Residences at Stadium Place, and to add your name to the mailing list, please call Catholic Charities at 410-646-6580.

Meeting with OHCQ, Building the Foundation

Foundation work has continued during the past week at the Green House Residences Construction site. Work has started installing the cinder block foundation as well. We also took pictures during the deluge this week.

Today we had another in a series of positive meetings with representatives from Office of Health Care Quality, Catholic Charities, NCB Capital Impact, GEDCO and Marks, Thomas Architects. Planning is moving forward to open the building in early 2012. We discussed how the Green House model brings a different approach to dining services. Shahbazim (universal care workers) receive special training in food safety, meal preparation, and even knife skills. The shahbazim will engage elders in tasks around the home, including meal preparation, as they build relationships with the elders.

Elevators for the Green House Residences

Yesterday, the permiter for the elevator shaft was poured. While most Green House homes are small cottages, the Green House Residences at Stadium Place will have four stories, since we are located in an urban environment. Each story, or Residence, will be home to twelve elders.

Each floor will have a small elevator lobby, with a secure entrance to the Residence. When visitors enter the Residence, they will be standing in the Hearth area, looking at a living room with a fireplace, dining room with a large table for the Elders and Shahbazim to eat together, and the country kitchen. For more information about the Green House Project, visit, http://www.thegreenhouseproject.org/.

Foundation Work Continues

During the past week, work crews have been busy working on the the elevator pit. The Green House Residences will be the second urban Green House project, with a total of four floors and a lower level. Each floor will be a self-contained residence for 12 elders and their own team of Shahbazim (specially training universal care workers who are responsible for personal care and managing the household).

Yesterday, construction crews continued to pour concrete for the foundation and started pouring the base of the elevator shaft.

Pouring the Foundation

The construction for the Green House Residences is making good progress. We had the first pour of concrete this week to meet the Maryland Health Care Commission deadline. Please find enclosed pictures of the construction progress.

The Veterans Administration is building a Green House project in Danville, Illinois, and they just poured their foundation as well. http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/TheGreenHouseProject

Seeding the Fundarising Campaign

The Leadership Committee, led by Karenthia Barber, is organizing the public phase of GEDCO's fundraising campaign for the Green House Residences at Stadium Place. We have raised $9.2 million of our $13.2 million goal, to complete construction of the building, retire the long-term debt, and build a benevolence fund and capital reserve.

The committee met last night to plan their outreach to different communities. Each person on the committee will lead the effort for a different community, such as universities, building professionals, lawyers, etc. We want to share the Green House story with as many different groups as possible. Please let us know how you will help to spread the word about the first Green House project in Maryland.

Digging the Hole

Neither rain nor sleet nor snow can slow our construction progress (we hope). Despite the icy weather the past week, excavation work has continued at Stadium Place. Since there were two stadia on this site (Memorial Stadium and a previous stadium built in 1922), we are finding debris, concrete and water pipes, as well as bottles from the Baltimore Brewing Company.

During this Super Bowl weekend, we remember the many Baltimore Colts who played in Memorial Stadium, and look forward to providing a new model of long-term care for those players who need skilled nursing care.

Surveying and Excavating

I am still pinching myself, every time I walk by the construction site. The activity is increasing each day. The sediment control is in place, as well as a larger construction fence. In addition, the site has been surveyed and excavation is proceeding. Enjoy the pictures of the construction site.

In addition, here are two gentlemen responsible for helping GEDCO with the Groundbreaking, Perry Savoy and Jack Neill. Thanks to Perry for serving on our board as Vice President of External Relations. Thanks to Jack for painting the construction logo on the Memorial Stadium Bricks.

Groundbreaking Ceremony - Green House Residences

The Groundbreaking Ceremony for THE GREEN HOUSE(R) Residences at Stadium Place was held on Friday, January 7, with the Mayor of Baltimore and other elected officials, Dr. Bill Thomas, the Father of the Green House movement, donors, lenders, Catholic Charities, Plano-Coudon, and many others. We were thrilled to be joined by original Baltimore Colts players Tom Matte and Lenny Moore. Representatives of GEDCO's member organizations laid bricks from the original Memorial Stadium to form the logo for our fundraising drive.

Thanks to everyone for all of your support.

Watch the video of Mitch Posner and Dr. Bill Thomas.

http://changingaging.org/2011/01/10/stadium-place-marylands-first-green-house-project/