Master Plan Update for Masonic Homes at Elizabethtown
The Committee on Masonic Homes has approved a 20-year vision through a master plan detailing a systematic approach to growth at the Masonic Homes at Elizabethtown. After months of focus groups with residents and staff; discussions with township, borough, and community leaders; and surveys of potential customers, the Masonic Homes is sharing its vision and the planning process with its constituencies to confirm that the plan would meet the needs of residents, staff, and the local community. To develop this plan, the Masonic Homes has been working with Reese, Lower, Patrick & Scott Architects of Lancaster, PA.
The master plan addresses 11 program goals that the Masonic Homes' administration devised upon evaluating market trends and input from current and future customers. Potential growth within any of these identified areas will be determined by service needs and may not necessarily occur in any particular order. All plans depend on approval from local and county authorities.
The following are the 11 program goals used as a foundation to develop the Master Plan:
1.Plan for up to 400 additional retirement living cottages, in phases, to accommodate market demand. The cottages will consist mostly of duplexes, in a range of sizes, and will be integrated with the land. In August, the Committee on Masonic Homes approved the pre-marketing of 68 additional retirement living cottages. Based on the pre-marketing, the Committee on Masonic Homes will decide whether to authorize the approval process and construction of the new cottages.
2.Plan for up to 150 additional apartments, in phases, in a variety of sizes.
3.Plan for up to 40 additional assisted living units.
4.Add additional recreational opportunities to promote a wellness/pedestrian focus, providing access to walking, bike and cart paths, golfing or equestrian facilities.
5.Work with community leaders to encourage developers to build a hotel on the perimeter of the campus, offering approximately 60 rooms. This would serve and benefit the greater Elizabethtown area.
6.Relocate the Farm Market to a more visible and accessible location on the campus.
7.Combine programming into a centralized arts/cultural center, including small studios for model railroading, painting, woodworking, ceramics, etc.
8.Relocate laundry facilities from the front entrance of the Masonic Homes to the lower level of the Masonic Health Care Center.
9. Work with regional health systems to offer a medical clinic on the perimeter of the campus.
10. Working with the Elizabethtown Borough, integrate, blend, and strengthen Masonic Homes' ties to the Amtrak station and the Elizabethtown community. Convert existing buildings at the entrance of the campus into a marketplace offering convenient amenities such as retail shops, a restaurant, an outdoor café, dry cleaning, etc. These services would be operated by outside organizations on Masonic Homes' grounds. If market research shows a need for a 55+ community, such accommodations could be built near that marketplace.
11. Re-invent existing under-utilized structures, such as the abattoir, dairy farm, and farmhouses, to maintain the character of the campus. Make positive features more prominent, such as the fountains, architectural beauty, formal gardens, Bender's Pond, and Memorial Grove. Preserve wooded areas for future recreation, such as equestrian use. Also preserve meadows, orchards, and farmland. Create a new main entrance from Bainbridge Road, bringing people onto Shrine Road at the base of Grand Lodge Hall and formal gardens, displaying the prominence and beauty of the boulevard.
Other components could include:
An expanded wellness center to extend from the existing center to the Brossman Pool.
Improved parking access on the campus.
Future articles will provide additional master plan updates, as well as if and when goals might be met. Anyone interested in partnering with the Masonic Homes in providing services at the proposed marketplace may call (717) 367-1121, extension 33262.
