The Meru Campus of Care remains on track to create 40 new jobs when it opens in April according to Dr. Krishna Sankar who has teamed with Vish Visvabharathy, Ph.D., of ChicagTo, on the project.
Jones & Jones, the architectural firm of Roanoke, has designed all of the four structures that are now connected as one 72,000 sq. ft. facility repurposed for independent living, assisted living, and memory care.
The new section that has been constructed to connect what once was the Compare Inn & Suites to the Annex and The Painted Elephant will offer its residents what management hopes will be a home away from home.
Donna Chinault, the director who grew up in Floyd, Va. before moving to Fla. where she finished her high school years, remarked, “It’s going to be an all-around warm, good, friendly, safe place to be.”
James Marion, who graduated from Warren County High School in Front Royal, Va., has been hired as the director of maintenance.
Marion said, “We will have a garden area outside of our facility, and we definitely are going to be a warm place to call home.”
Sankar observed, “Our projected opening time is in April, and right now, we are going through our finishing touches.”
What once operated as the Annex has been converted to independent living quarters, and what was the Compare Inn & Suites will provide housing upstairs for those who register for an assisted living while the downstairs will serve those who are in need of memory care.
The Painted Elephant, once a bar and restaurant, will now be utilized as the facility’s kitchen and recreational area with ample seating, exercise equipment, and tables for board games.
The new structure that connects the other three will provide residents with a beauty salon, exercise room, theater, chapel, activity room, library, recreation room, juice bar, coffee bar, and record listening station.
Marion remarked, “Internet will be provided for all of the residents.”
Where it is feasible, solar panels will be used throughout the complex that will feature multi-dining areas, elevators, two fenced-in courtyards, and a garden area.
Some of the living accommodations will feature two bathrooms and two bedrooms. The entire facility will have 90 bathrooms, and 10 public restrooms have been strategically located throughout the entire complex.
Also, the complex will have an outdoor pool that will be utilized for physical therapy and for recreational use, and there are multi-nursing stations that have been constructed throughout the facility.
There are 75 rooms. Those upstairs will serve whoever signs up for an assisted living, and the rooms downstairs will house those in need of memory care.
Sankar remarked, “We still have plenty of hurdles to get past.”
He explained that the additional required permits will be obtained after the facility receives all of its new furniture and equipment that will soon be in place.s
Chinault commented, “We’re going to have a ton of fun.”
The project is a joint undertaking with the Sankar family joining the Visvabharathy family, and the facility is located adjacent to Alleghany Opticians, Sankar’s business that will continue to provide eye care service next door to Meru Campus of Care.
Solar panels will be used throughout the facility to cut heating costs, and there is ample parking on both the north side and the south side of the complex where a large garage will serve Marion’s needs for maintaining the property.
Sankar, who graduated from Bangalore Medical College in 1961, has lived in Alleghany County for 50 years. Across I-64 from Meru Campus of Care, Sankar owns the Magnuson Hotel which has 79 rooms, a dining area, a bar, and an outdoor swimming pool.
As for the new project that has encountered setbacks due to building material shortages and an interruption in the nation’s supply chain that has been created by COVID-19, Sankar is encouraged that the project is nearing its completion.
“When it is completed, we will hold a grand opening,’ Sankar concluded.
With the number of “For Sale” and “For Rent” signs in storefront windows throughout the Alleghany Highlands that has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the opening of Meru Campus of Care will provide a much-needed facility that will provide a boost to the local economy.
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