Posted: December 15, 2021
‘Tis the season for festive parties and family gatherings. At Holly Creek Life Plan Community in Centennial various renovations are wrapping up — just in time to ring in the holiday season.
The newly finished front entryway/communal space will include additional nooks for gatherings, a coffee/traditional bar area and an updated library, not to mention upgrades to the dining rooms and courtyards around the community.
“I have 10 great grandchildren. And I have a lot of them nearby,” shares resident Dolores Schlessman. “They will probably use the renovated spaces. I understand that other families are having people over for Christmas as well.”
Residents and staff have been keeping up with progress on the main living area through specially placed plastic windows in the construction dividing wall.
“Every day I looked in there, and I could not believe the progress they are making and how hard they are working,” shared Sue Sherman, another long-time resident of the community’s independent living neighborhood. “They said Thanksgiving and didn’t change it to spring, which I really appreciate.”
As Lead Concierge at the community, Kristy Andrews has also watched the construction in the front entry/communal area, and watched the dividing wall move closer and closer to her desk for several months. While she will no longer be able to surprise construction workers with paper airplanes over the wall, she is very excited to see the space come together.
“With it being a more open layout, it invites people to come and sit and hang out and mingle with other family and residents. More areas for them to engage one another and enjoy community,” Andrews explained, adding that she expects the space will foster spontaneous happy hours and various gatherings of all kinds.
Kristy’s current favorite part of the renovation is a large “L” shaped fireplace at the back of the room. “It’s open with glass and marble on the bottom. Very well done and welcoming.”
The space will also include more couches, chairs and seating all the way down to the library. Sue is particularly thrilled about the furniture and additional places to sit and chat—“They have ordered us solid-armed and comfortable furniture. They really listened to our requests on that.” Plus, she added, “the bar will bring people in before they go to dinner, and just have an open area for that, which is needed. And places to sit when you just want to sit and talk, because there aren’t many of those except in the dining room and Grille.”
While the new furniture won’t make it in time for the holiday season, the rest of the spaces are ready and decorated for festive use with some of the same couches from before.
“We’ve been seeing the mockups and designs for so long now,” Kristy concluded, “I think we’re all very excited to see it come together. It is going to be a really great place for gathering.”
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