Since 1963, First Community Village has provided a premier lifestyle within our Upper Arlington, Ohio senior housing which gives you more freedom, eliminates the burdens of home ownership and allows you more time to enjoy the things you love.
Our suburban Columbus location of Upper Arlington, Ohio affords seniors the chance to receive all the benefits you’d expect from a major American city like Columbus, while avoiding some of the inconveniences that living directly within a city can bring about.
And at First Community Village, we’re a group of engaging, cultured and highly social individuals who are welcoming to new friends and who love being in the heart of Columbus. The active, everyday life you lead will be enhanced with increased opportunities for exploration and growth, making First Community Village a place you’ll truly enjoy calling home.
Along with the lavish lifestyle you’ve always desired within the retirement communities of Upper Arlington, Ohio and the best services and amenities available for senior living, comes peace of mind from continuing care. Never worry about life’s what-ifs again! Come experience premier Upper Arlington senior living at First Community Village, where you come first!
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Title: First Community Village - 50th Anniversary Video
Time: 18 min 15 sec
Description:
none
Transcript:
welcome to national church residences First Community village this year we're celebrating our 50th anniversary 50 years can you believe it what an important milestone we have so much to be thankful for over the years the past 50 in fact we've seen a lot of changes here at the village but one thing has remained the same our residence the wonderful people who year after year choose to call first community village home our residents are at the heart of what makes first community village so special they are the keepers of every precious memory and what better way to celebrate and honor our 50th year than to remember some of those special moments let's listen will you let's listen as our residents and our friends and our community leaders share a few of their personal stories about what this community means to them First Community village has really been at the heart of a family in in the tri village area meaning our parents our family doesn't have to move away they just moved down the street and they're still part of our lives so it's been great to have this this place this stability in our community I wanted to be close to my daughter seemed like the perfect place for me and it is first community village really represents the heart and soul of our community with the residents that live here with the staff that are constantly engaged in Upper Arlington with the support that you've provided to the school district you really are a passionate and committed supporter of the community you really feel and it's clear that you're part of this community there's a spirit of adverse community village that really extends to the upper arlington community first community village certainly in my estimation was a very special place it's the residence that themselves I think that make it special that they have a community in every sense of the word they love the place what's really special is your residents who make it their home and make it their community there's no one that isn't friendly he wouldn't do anything for you and you count on that you really do I think the most outstanding quality of the village which has remained consistent through the 50 years is the common spirit is a it's a family it was a family 50 years ago it's a family soul today my first connection goes way way back because it was essentially with Roy Burkhardt when I was a German of a germ of an idea is that the church should be involved somehow in some kind of residential facility for its members back then the churches were emphasizing what many called cradle to grave birkis term was more birth to graduation and he felt that the church ought to be looking into some kind of facility which older members could actually be residential in John Galbraith who was a real estate big-time real estate developer here was a member of the church lotuses airplane and we flew to facilities in Chicago and Detroit and over in central Pennsylvania to look into some of these they were most of them are quite new was a new concept at that time mr. Galbraith agreed to arrange the financing if it was went forward and was willing to act as a construction party and so that that was very helpful because he knew how to go about it than we needed somebody with that kind of experience there was a government program in in what was called HUD the Housing and Urban Development Department of the federal government who had set up programs to loan money to organizations to do just this we applied and ultimately got a commitment from them of five million dollars which doesn't seem like much these days but was a lot of money in those days one of the early things was to find a site a suitable site and dr. Burkhardt had talked to the Miller family early pioneers of Arlington and they thought it would be a good use of their ground which had been used for the Upper Arlington golf course and so we won our first assignments was to tie up that ground and when they found out what we were to do with the land they got pretty excited about that and thought that would be a wonderful use for the remaining part of their land and birkis original idea was certainly nothing like first community villages now you know you we are thinking of a few residents and a house kind of thing and not any huge deal the village opened and recognized very early that it needed a health care center didn't have one so there was a whole series of garden apartments down towards the Fifth Avenue entrance that were converted into convallaria then the problem was where you going to put a health care center we don't have any real space in this place for a building like that there was property along Riverside Drive that potentially could have been used for that facility but there was a road that went right through the middle of it there was a road that went between Fifth Avenue and waltham road on this side of Riverside Drive the only way we could possibly get a building in there was to somehow get our hands on that road and we contacted the state of Ohio and they said when do you want it what was the hazard it was the entrance on walzem road was right there at Riverside Drive so the state was glad not to maintain it and to get rid of a hazard now the only road part that's left is the entrance on Fifth Avenue that's where it came out the rest of it's pretty much gone but that gave us the space we needed to build the building to make the numbers come out we needed about a hundred and sixty-five beds in this facility the only way to do that was to go to two floors we brought the architects in one day with a meeting on the board and we brought all the nursing staff in and the nurses designed that building on that space over the years I saw a cutting-edge facility get tired and it was time it just got worn out from all the folks in the living that took place here and so it was time for a rebirth and so with a little bit of trepidation would they keep that same feel that same love that same welcoming environment as it regrouped and had a rebirth and indeed i'm thrilled because it has not only kept that and grown it it's why my mom is here what i call the modern is a the campus began in the early 2000s when we did them began a major renovation project we had known since really the 90s that something major had to be done to the village to make it more competitive and make it more attractive and to bring it out in the 1960s when it when it was first completed that was a major effort a major financial commitment that we didn't really think we had the capacity to do as a standalone facility so we started a process back in the early 2000s to find a partner essentially a new sponsor for the village somebody some an organization a nonprofit organization that was in the business of multiple retirement centers continuing care retirement communities and we never really found a good fit so we started on a modernization a construction project culminating and essentially what you see today got to be a little rocky during the later stages of that construction effort which started in the early 2000s maybe 2003 and we ran into financial difficulties we had problems probably some of our own mismanagement problems with the architect problems with the Builder culminating in being overextended and not being able to satisfy the banks or even to complete the project at that time in order satisfied the bank we banks we brought in a manager of the facility which is national church residences with the hope that they would prove as good as they proved to be and would eventually become the new the new sponsor of the village when I look at the village now I mean what we built an original endeavour is outdated I mean that just happens and with what's going on now in all of the new facilities you'll just be able to continue and or even improve the care offered to people here like the health care center my guys on that facility and all the new stuff here i think the village is set to be a forerunner in this industry for years to come the greatest contribution I think the village has made to the upper arlington community is is the gift of our older generation we haven't lost that and when I think of a Burlington and its strength I think of multi-generations I think of grandmas and small babies on every block and in every community event and so I feel the greatest strength from a a cultural perspective is keeping our older folks here and involved in the community from a city perspective boy economically it's our largest employer so having that stable base here in the city has been a great gift to our community during all economic times national church residences has brought great change to first community village and it has just expanded our opportunities here just beyond belief and we for me I i can see great development great beauty great opportunity for growth I love it I think of it as kind of a spiritual sense of humanity that exists here in every corner of this building I do remember when we built the health care center and we dedicated the with the groundbreaking at the be at the beginning of that process and so there was a number of us lined up with very shiny shovels and breaking the ground although the ground was a little hard and breaking it was a little bit of a task until they came by and and chopped it up a little bit for us so that was a humorous beginning to the to the health care center you understand as a kid I used to sled on what we called for Hills which was the four little moguls on the hillside here on the Miller property we came down here did our sledding we called him hills they were just that's because we were little kids so I go clear back to their so remembering what it was then to what it is now is it's pretty impressive my mom has found a new home here she moved up here with my dad when he was on hospice and it was a tough time and it they didn't know any of the folks around here they knew family but you know that families never enough and so they really embraced her and when my father did pass on my mom has become active here she's part of the of committees she plays bridge she goes on trips she's just fully engaged and to me that means she's happy and I'm thrilled words of gratitude for embracing my mom for giving her this sense of dignity and respect each and every day that she deserved and you always worry as a child whether she's getting that even though I was around a lot so gratitude to the staff not just the front line staff but the administrative staff the leadership who under some challenging transitions of leadership and under some challenging physical renovation really constantly were there too to make sure that we were being taken care of as parents and family members but also first and foremost their true north both the staff and the leadership their true north was the residents that live at First Community village so thank you the village is on the forefront of the home care and non-institutionalized caring for for our senior citizens including potentially me and I think that the whole industry is on the cusp of some major changes and I think that under the leadership of national church residences they have the capacity and they have the knowledge and they will be on the leading edge and I look forward to the day that I'm a resident of the village and can participate in in that success thanks to national church residences I think it's just going to be a great future I think that it can't go anywhere but up I think that the future looks really bright here I think that it's the castle in Arlington I really think it's a wonderful place well it means a lot I've got a lot of friends here that just realized that this is where they ought to be and I have no doubts that it serves them very well and it's it's well known in the community I think we've got one of the finest facilities in the state 50 years ago my family moved to Upper Arlington I was four years old time and my mother who is a registered nurse came down to apply for a job at First Community village I have memories of coming here with her and meeting the residents my Uncle Vernon Davis lived up on one of the hillside houses a lot of my life was spent in first community at least the formative years after i got a little bit older and I suppose became a little bit more cantankerous my mom left her work here and just was a stay-at-home mom not even two years ago three years ago when national church residences became aligned with First Community village my mom pulled out a brochure and on that brochure the very first one for First Community village was a picture of a nurse sitting at a desk at that point they were wearing all white and little caps on top is a completely different look for nursing staff and she said that's me mark 50 years ago isn't it neat how this community has has become ovin to my life and it takes one extra stud one extra step and that is three years ago my dad moved into the Roxbury as he was suffering with dementia my mom who was a nurse was just really wanted to take care of my home but could not what a blessing the very place that she worked and gave care for others now could be a place for my family to receive care my dad died here beg weary of just four months ago and we just had a church service to celebrate his departure what a great place to go home macaire was excellent the people were excellent and to think that I get to work for the very organization that runs first community village what a blessing I say to the residents here celebrate you've got a lot to celebrate it is strong and going and growing and take time and enjoy that recognize what a special place this is you
Time: 18 min 15 sec
Description:
none
Transcript:
welcome to national church residences First Community village this year we're celebrating our 50th anniversary 50 years can you believe it what an important milestone we have so much to be thankful for over the years the past 50 in fact we've seen a lot of changes here at the village but one thing has remained the same our residence the wonderful people who year after year choose to call first community village home our residents are at the heart of what makes first community village so special they are the keepers of every precious memory and what better way to celebrate and honor our 50th year than to remember some of those special moments let's listen will you let's listen as our residents and our friends and our community leaders share a few of their personal stories about what this community means to them First Community village has really been at the heart of a family in in the tri village area meaning our parents our family doesn't have to move away they just moved down the street and they're still part of our lives so it's been great to have this this place this stability in our community I wanted to be close to my daughter seemed like the perfect place for me and it is first community village really represents the heart and soul of our community with the residents that live here with the staff that are constantly engaged in Upper Arlington with the support that you've provided to the school district you really are a passionate and committed supporter of the community you really feel and it's clear that you're part of this community there's a spirit of adverse community village that really extends to the upper arlington community first community village certainly in my estimation was a very special place it's the residence that themselves I think that make it special that they have a community in every sense of the word they love the place what's really special is your residents who make it their home and make it their community there's no one that isn't friendly he wouldn't do anything for you and you count on that you really do I think the most outstanding quality of the village which has remained consistent through the 50 years is the common spirit is a it's a family it was a family 50 years ago it's a family soul today my first connection goes way way back because it was essentially with Roy Burkhardt when I was a German of a germ of an idea is that the church should be involved somehow in some kind of residential facility for its members back then the churches were emphasizing what many called cradle to grave birkis term was more birth to graduation and he felt that the church ought to be looking into some kind of facility which older members could actually be residential in John Galbraith who was a real estate big-time real estate developer here was a member of the church lotuses airplane and we flew to facilities in Chicago and Detroit and over in central Pennsylvania to look into some of these they were most of them are quite new was a new concept at that time mr. Galbraith agreed to arrange the financing if it was went forward and was willing to act as a construction party and so that that was very helpful because he knew how to go about it than we needed somebody with that kind of experience there was a government program in in what was called HUD the Housing and Urban Development Department of the federal government who had set up programs to loan money to organizations to do just this we applied and ultimately got a commitment from them of five million dollars which doesn't seem like much these days but was a lot of money in those days one of the early things was to find a site a suitable site and dr. Burkhardt had talked to the Miller family early pioneers of Arlington and they thought it would be a good use of their ground which had been used for the Upper Arlington golf course and so we won our first assignments was to tie up that ground and when they found out what we were to do with the land they got pretty excited about that and thought that would be a wonderful use for the remaining part of their land and birkis original idea was certainly nothing like first community villages now you know you we are thinking of a few residents and a house kind of thing and not any huge deal the village opened and recognized very early that it needed a health care center didn't have one so there was a whole series of garden apartments down towards the Fifth Avenue entrance that were converted into convallaria then the problem was where you going to put a health care center we don't have any real space in this place for a building like that there was property along Riverside Drive that potentially could have been used for that facility but there was a road that went right through the middle of it there was a road that went between Fifth Avenue and waltham road on this side of Riverside Drive the only way we could possibly get a building in there was to somehow get our hands on that road and we contacted the state of Ohio and they said when do you want it what was the hazard it was the entrance on walzem road was right there at Riverside Drive so the state was glad not to maintain it and to get rid of a hazard now the only road part that's left is the entrance on Fifth Avenue that's where it came out the rest of it's pretty much gone but that gave us the space we needed to build the building to make the numbers come out we needed about a hundred and sixty-five beds in this facility the only way to do that was to go to two floors we brought the architects in one day with a meeting on the board and we brought all the nursing staff in and the nurses designed that building on that space over the years I saw a cutting-edge facility get tired and it was time it just got worn out from all the folks in the living that took place here and so it was time for a rebirth and so with a little bit of trepidation would they keep that same feel that same love that same welcoming environment as it regrouped and had a rebirth and indeed i'm thrilled because it has not only kept that and grown it it's why my mom is here what i call the modern is a the campus began in the early 2000s when we did them began a major renovation project we had known since really the 90s that something major had to be done to the village to make it more competitive and make it more attractive and to bring it out in the 1960s when it when it was first completed that was a major effort a major financial commitment that we didn't really think we had the capacity to do as a standalone facility so we started a process back in the early 2000s to find a partner essentially a new sponsor for the village somebody some an organization a nonprofit organization that was in the business of multiple retirement centers continuing care retirement communities and we never really found a good fit so we started on a modernization a construction project culminating and essentially what you see today got to be a little rocky during the later stages of that construction effort which started in the early 2000s maybe 2003 and we ran into financial difficulties we had problems probably some of our own mismanagement problems with the architect problems with the Builder culminating in being overextended and not being able to satisfy the banks or even to complete the project at that time in order satisfied the bank we banks we brought in a manager of the facility which is national church residences with the hope that they would prove as good as they proved to be and would eventually become the new the new sponsor of the village when I look at the village now I mean what we built an original endeavour is outdated I mean that just happens and with what's going on now in all of the new facilities you'll just be able to continue and or even improve the care offered to people here like the health care center my guys on that facility and all the new stuff here i think the village is set to be a forerunner in this industry for years to come the greatest contribution I think the village has made to the upper arlington community is is the gift of our older generation we haven't lost that and when I think of a Burlington and its strength I think of multi-generations I think of grandmas and small babies on every block and in every community event and so I feel the greatest strength from a a cultural perspective is keeping our older folks here and involved in the community from a city perspective boy economically it's our largest employer so having that stable base here in the city has been a great gift to our community during all economic times national church residences has brought great change to first community village and it has just expanded our opportunities here just beyond belief and we for me I i can see great development great beauty great opportunity for growth I love it I think of it as kind of a spiritual sense of humanity that exists here in every corner of this building I do remember when we built the health care center and we dedicated the with the groundbreaking at the be at the beginning of that process and so there was a number of us lined up with very shiny shovels and breaking the ground although the ground was a little hard and breaking it was a little bit of a task until they came by and and chopped it up a little bit for us so that was a humorous beginning to the to the health care center you understand as a kid I used to sled on what we called for Hills which was the four little moguls on the hillside here on the Miller property we came down here did our sledding we called him hills they were just that's because we were little kids so I go clear back to their so remembering what it was then to what it is now is it's pretty impressive my mom has found a new home here she moved up here with my dad when he was on hospice and it was a tough time and it they didn't know any of the folks around here they knew family but you know that families never enough and so they really embraced her and when my father did pass on my mom has become active here she's part of the of committees she plays bridge she goes on trips she's just fully engaged and to me that means she's happy and I'm thrilled words of gratitude for embracing my mom for giving her this sense of dignity and respect each and every day that she deserved and you always worry as a child whether she's getting that even though I was around a lot so gratitude to the staff not just the front line staff but the administrative staff the leadership who under some challenging transitions of leadership and under some challenging physical renovation really constantly were there too to make sure that we were being taken care of as parents and family members but also first and foremost their true north both the staff and the leadership their true north was the residents that live at First Community village so thank you the village is on the forefront of the home care and non-institutionalized caring for for our senior citizens including potentially me and I think that the whole industry is on the cusp of some major changes and I think that under the leadership of national church residences they have the capacity and they have the knowledge and they will be on the leading edge and I look forward to the day that I'm a resident of the village and can participate in in that success thanks to national church residences I think it's just going to be a great future I think that it can't go anywhere but up I think that the future looks really bright here I think that it's the castle in Arlington I really think it's a wonderful place well it means a lot I've got a lot of friends here that just realized that this is where they ought to be and I have no doubts that it serves them very well and it's it's well known in the community I think we've got one of the finest facilities in the state 50 years ago my family moved to Upper Arlington I was four years old time and my mother who is a registered nurse came down to apply for a job at First Community village I have memories of coming here with her and meeting the residents my Uncle Vernon Davis lived up on one of the hillside houses a lot of my life was spent in first community at least the formative years after i got a little bit older and I suppose became a little bit more cantankerous my mom left her work here and just was a stay-at-home mom not even two years ago three years ago when national church residences became aligned with First Community village my mom pulled out a brochure and on that brochure the very first one for First Community village was a picture of a nurse sitting at a desk at that point they were wearing all white and little caps on top is a completely different look for nursing staff and she said that's me mark 50 years ago isn't it neat how this community has has become ovin to my life and it takes one extra stud one extra step and that is three years ago my dad moved into the Roxbury as he was suffering with dementia my mom who was a nurse was just really wanted to take care of my home but could not what a blessing the very place that she worked and gave care for others now could be a place for my family to receive care my dad died here beg weary of just four months ago and we just had a church service to celebrate his departure what a great place to go home macaire was excellent the people were excellent and to think that I get to work for the very organization that runs first community village what a blessing I say to the residents here celebrate you've got a lot to celebrate it is strong and going and growing and take time and enjoy that recognize what a special place this is you
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