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Vincentian retirement villas ‘take flight’ at grand opening
archived from: 2010-02-08
by: Pittsburgh Catholic Staff Report

New community is part of continuing-care project

Vincentian Collaborative System on Jan. 19 celebrated the grand opening of its Vincentian Villa Retirement Community in McCandless Township with a dedication, blessing service and dove release.

Father John Rushofsky, pastor of St. Sebastian in Ross Township, officiated.

The new independent-living retirement community welcomed its first 17 residents earlier this month and expects to have 23 in place by March, Sister Anne Kull, administrator of Vincentian Home, said at the dedication.

She noted that groundbreaking on the $14-million project began just nine months earlier.

“Independent living offers residents the ability to maintain active lives,” she said, noting that, at the villa, “if living at home is no longer possible, they are connected to health services, allowing them to comfortably move to other levels of care as needed.”

The villa is part of a continuing-care retirement community operated by Vincentian Home, a ministry of the Vincentian Collaborative System, which itself coordinates the work of four nursing homes, two child development centers and a rehabilitation company.

The villa sits on 16 acres at McKnight Road and Babcock Boulevard on the motherhouse grounds of the former Vincentian Sisters of Charity — now the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.

It encompasses 24 two-bedroom apartments, 40 patio homes in single, duplex or triplex models, a clubhouse, 24-hour security and covered parking.

Architect was RDL Architects, with Mistick Construction as contractor.

“This is a fulfilling moment,” Joanne Andiorio, acting president and CEO of Vincentian Collaborative System, said at the dedication.

She acknowledged Sister Theresa Novak, who began the project, and she also honored the early Vincentian sisters who arrived in this country generations ago.

They could not have foreseen such a ministry, she said. “We stand on the shoulders of all those who came before us. We will work together to continue to develop this marvelous community.”

She noted that the Vincentian sisters’ tradition of caring for the sick and elderly “continues today as we follow our mission of compassionate care that meets the needs of a diverse and changing society.”

For information, call 412-364-6592. The Web site is www.vcs.org.

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