$3M Manor Addition On Target
Expansion Will Address Growing Need For 'Assisted Living'

The new section at the Guy & Mary Felt Manor will include 10 assisted living quarters. An example of the brick facade is in the foreground.

Within a matter of days, a piece of downtown property has been transformed from a vacant lot to the heavy steel frame of the Guy and Mary Felt Manor addition.

Administrator Kim Jones reports that the major expansion is progressing on schedule at the 35-year-old building.

The new wing will allow Felt Manor to begin accepting up to 10 "assisted living" residents, in addition to the 40-resident capacity of the current skilled care facility.

"We're excited about bringing this new service to the area," Jones said. "It will provide a choice for those residents who require a limited amount of care. We'll also be adding some jobs."

Even though the new wing is in the construction stages, Jones said at least 14 people have expressed an interest in moving there.

Demographic studies confirm that the population requiring assisted living is underserved and is likely to grow as Cameron County's population ages.

Each resident will have his or her own bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette.

There will be a common dining area and activity center, as well as laundry facilities and other services.

"It's a place of residence that will be independent, but supervised," Jones said.

At the same time, Felt Manor is renovating the nursing home, adding a therapy room, relocating the nurses' station and expanding the dining area.

Estimated price tag of the two projects is $3 million.

Swanson and Sons of Bradford is general contractor. Architect is Habiterra, the same firm that designed the current structure, due largely to a large bequest by Guy and Mary Felt.