Old Montclair Building Finds New Life As Senior Citizen Hub

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A once-neglected building at a Montclair park is earning a reputation as a much-needed meeting place for the town’s senior citizen population, officials say.

Earlier this month, a group of public officials, local senior citizens and municipal employees met at Edgemont Park to recap a plethora of improvements the adjoining Park House has seen in the past three years.

The Edgemont Park House has needed a good dose of TLC for quite some time, town officials stated.

“Over the years we’ve had people voice their concerns and complaints about the state of Edgemont Park and the Park House,” Jackson said. “We needed to make Edgemont the showpiece of the community that it once was.”

Luckily, the effort to spruce up the Park House coincided with another local need: finding a place to help senior citizens “age in place.”

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In November of 2012, Partners for Health Foundation hosted a community-wide briefing entitled, “How Can We Help Older Residents of Montclair Age in Place?” The briefing was designed to present data, themes and other information that had emerged after studies and surveys were conducted in the township to assess senior livability.

“Several major themes emerged, which demonstrated that Montclair had a wealth of community-based assets and resources that supported livability for our older residents,” Health and Human Services Director Sue Portuese said. “The greatest areas of concern were those that affected our older citizens the ability to age in place, such as transportation, taxes, housing, financial stability and community.”

As the staff liaison to the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee, Portuese became aware that the township’s senior citizens wanted a center for activities and felt this was something that the department could take action on.

“The first step was to identify a township-designated space where we could provide programs for older residents,” Portuese said. “We obtained permission to use Edgemont Park House as the site for this project and partnered with the Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs to help make it happen.”

In August of 2013, the Partners for Health Foundation awarded the township a $61,500 grant to make renovations and purchase furniture and supplies to make the space more inviting.

A grand opening and ribbon cutting for the newly-renovated Edgemont Park House was held in May 2016 to coincide with Older American’s Month.

Since then, the township has launched several programs geared towards senior citizens, including the MILL classes (Montclair Institute for Lifelong Learning), art classes, exercise, club groups and movies.

The township also hired Katie York in 2016 as its full-time Senior Services/Lifelong Montclair Director. Michelle DeWitt was brought on as a half-time Senior Citizens Coordinator. In addition, longtime department employee Linda Tate has been working at Edgemont Park House assisting with senior programming for the past several years.

“There is no doubt that the senior activities offered at Edgemont Park House have added to the quality of life for our older residents,” Senior Citizens Advisory Committee Chair Ann Lippel said.

“The thoughtful selection of programming, ranging from crafts to exercise to intellectual pursuits, clearly respond to the diversity of Montclair’s seniors,” Lippel continued. “This program has proven to be a very successful and popular effort.”

And the renovations at Edgemont aren’t done yet, town officials said.

Additional upgrades scheduled for the Edgemont Park House include new plumbing, windows and lighting, as well as “significant renovations” in the kitchen area with new appliances and equipment that will facilitate cooking and baking demonstrations.

According to Montclair officials, here are 21 improvements and programs that have taken place at Edgemont Park House in recent history.

Improvements to Edgemont Park House include:

· painted interior (Boy Scouts project)

· replaced flooring with wood-look vinyl

· replaced doors/door frames

· installed keypad security locks

· replaced heating boiler gas pilot valve and flue piping

· installed hot water heaters (with electrical rewiring) for bathrooms

· made improvements to electrical system

· replaced several windows

· installed new blinds

· purchased furniture – tables, chairs, coffee station, etc.

· purchased large screen TV, DVD Player, computers, phones, brought in internet and cable

· purchased games and supplies

· replaced leaking roof

· repaired half window on second floor

· installed new HVAC

Programs at Edgemont Park House include:

· operate building 5 days/week with 1.5 Health Department staff

· provided for building attendant until maintenance was added to Township’s roster

· Instituted bi-monthly newsletter that includes calendar of all programs and classes on offer

· brought in MILL classes

· provide for programs 5 days/week

· added monthly trips

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