December Blog 2022
2022 HA Holiday Party
The Homestead America team gathered for the 2022 Holiday Party to celebrate another great year. This year’s event took place at the historic Edison 777 in Italian Village. Twenty lucky winners walked away with prizes that included TVs, virtual reality headsets, a Yeti Cooler, iPads, laptops, and even a weekend getaway that included Delta gift cards, Airbnb gift cards, and a Visa gift card.
Tanya Brand, Regional Manager for Homestead Senior Living said, "I've been attending these holiday parties for 11 years and the culture committee really outdid themselves. It was a great event, well decorated and so much fun! I'm already looking forward to next year."
A special thank you to our sponsors for making this event special.
Homestead America MVP Awards
Community Of The Year - Georgetown
Maintenance MVP - Jim Vest, Orchard Grove
MVP - Steve Turner, Worthington Commons
Check out our social media pages for more photos!
In The News: Huckleberry House Completes Significant Renovation at Teen Shelter
Homestead Companies’ philanthropic partnership with the Huckleberry House continues to make an impact:
“For nearly four decades, young people in Greater Columbus who have found themselves without reliable shelter often have sought — and always found — refuge at a three-story home in Weinland Park on the city's North Side.
In 1976, Huckleberry House moved its services into a house on Hamlet Street, evolving from the street outreach mission on which the nonprofit agency was founded six years prior. Built in 1905, the house was being used as rooming for Ohio State University students when Huckleberry House purchased it.
In the ensuing years, as Huckleberry House's reach has expanded and its mission has continued to grow, that 117-year-old house has remained largely the same. That is, until this year, when the agency partnered with other organizations and Columbus City Council on two distinct projects that included interior overhauls to both its first- and second-floor spaces at the shelter, as well as a revitalization of some exterior areas and the surrounding outdoor landscape.
Most recently, Huckleberry House underwent a renovation to the second-floor living space of the Hamlet Street crisis shelter valued at $123,223. The Columbus chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) provided parts and labor valued at $92,423, and Columbus City Council approved a $26,300 grant to support the project.
Huckleberry House financed the remaining $4,500 in expenses, said executive director Sonya Thesing.
Most youth ages 12 to 17 who go to the shelter stay for about a week, Thesing said. During that time, they are connected with counseling and other wraparound services until they find a stable living situation and move on. In some cases, Huckleberry House might offer extended emergency shelter to a youth for up to three months until Franklin County Children Services helps that person find a permanent housing situation.
By renovating and updating the sleeping areas and lounge spaces of the shelter's second floor, leaders at Huckleberry House are hoping to provide a more welcoming and comfortable space to the approximately 500 at-risk youth the organization serves each year who are experiencing homelessness or other crises, Thesing said.
“We wanted the shelter to have the kind of space where youth could be comfortable no matter what they are dealing with,” she said. “We know the space needs improvements, but there’s always a list of a thousand other things that need attention first.”
Although the shelter's capacity remains the same — 16 beds and a maximum capacity of 22 — Thesing said the renovations led to the space being reconfigured, allowing for four bedrooms instead of two, in turn equipping the shelter to better accommodate young people who are nonbinary, transgender or gender fluid.
The project also included overhauling the work station for overnight staff who monitor the sleeping areas.
The shelter's residents were moved temporarily to the third floor as renovations continued.
Members of NARI of Central Ohio, a nonprofit trade association serving the remodeling industry, first visited the shelter in the spring of 2021 before deciding to help Huckleberry House with a renovation project, said executive director Pam Patter. The work began in mid-September, with NARI’s members providing labor and such materials as flooring and paint before Huckleberry House announced the project's completion Nov. 20.
“We admire what they do,” Patter said. “We weren’t doing it for recognition. We’re doing it because we want to give back.”
Leaders of Huckleberry House also requested funding from Columbus City Council, which approved it in July through the city's Neighborhood Initiatives subfund.
Councilman Rob Dorans said the council has long supported Huckleberry House, and he acknowledged the urgent need to support organizations providing housing and shelter in Columbus amid a housing crisis. Youth are by no means immune to the instability that has largely grown in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
“Huckleberry House has been that really important anchor to make sure kids have somewhere to go, that they have someone who can connect them with the right services,” Dorans said. “It’s hard being a teenager in general, and you layer on top all these issues young people are dealing with and its incredibly difficult, so it’s really important for them to have a space that’s inviting and comfortable and safe.”
The project was the second completed this year at the crisis shelter.
Homestead Cos., a Columbus apartment rental agency, contacted Huckleberry House in the spring about doing a volunteer day at the shelter.
But what started as a single day of employees and some workers they had recruited from Sherwin-Williams volunteering turned into a largescale project on the first floor of the shelter. Beginning in late June, the company provided new flooring and paint and added a second laundry room in the crisis shelter valued at $40,000, Thesing said.
Volunteers also planted flowers and painted all the wood trim at the counseling center on the Hamlet Street campus. Huckleberry House also has an apartment complex for those ages 17 to 24 on Kenmore Square on the Northeast Side, where volunteers power-washed sidewalks and patios and painted all the gates and trash dumpsters.
“We really depend on and benefit from the kindness and generosity of our community,” Thesing said. “We typically receive financial support for programs and services, but not for improving spaces, so these two organizations made a very big difference for us this year.”
Homestead Village In Grove City Makes History
Homestead Village in Grove City has hit 100% occupancy!! For most communities, this is a familiar milestone but for HSL, this is the first developed community in the senior living division and the first to hit 100% occupancy!
"With this being our first lease up in senior housing, there was a lot of learning and having to overcome challenges like COVID during our grand opening. However, this team has been incredible and has put us over the finish line. A big win for Homestead!" said Ryan McGahan, VP of Marketing.
Homestead Village in Grove City is the first of 4 senior living communities in the portfolio with the latest community in Ft. Wayne, Indiana slated to open in early 2023.
In The News: Largest Central Ohio Construction Projects
We made the list! 🗞
Homestead Construction has multiple properties ranked in the top 50 Largest Central Ohio Construction Projects. See below:
#12 - Lusso, Italian Village, OH
#13 - Homestead Village, Huber Heights, OH
#29 - Stella, Italian Village, OH
#31 - Hayden Apartments, Huber Heights, OH
#47 - Homestead Village, Miamisburg, OH
HU November Champ Chain Winner: Kaitlyn Griffin
Please join us in congratulating our November Thankful Champ Chain, Kaitlyn Griffin; Homestead's very own Leasing and Marketing Manager at SkyGarden, all the way over in Charleston, South Carolina!
"Kaitlyn is great with all of our residents. Always makes sure to know their names and the things they are passionate about. Kaitlyn is good at making the residents feel welcomed and at home. Kaitlyn has been a fantastic boost of life since returning from maternity leave. She has made an immediate positive impact on both the residents and her team. Kaitlyn puts on really creative and thoughtful resident events which are really appreciated by the residents. She has always been a star when it comes to leasing and has helped train both our new leasing consultants to be successful. I am so very thankful to have KG on my team. " Nominated by Caitlin McDermott and Joe Jurcak
Kaitlyn has gone above and beyond since we took over SkyGarden! We know we can count on her to make it happen and rock it out with her team. We are excited to see Kaitlyn lead her team to another year of 100% pre-leased!
Employee Spotlight: Sharron Giles
Name: Sharron Giles
Job Title: Community Manager
Community: Homestead Village - Grove City
How long have you been with Homestead? 2 years
What were you doing before Homestead? Property Management, I stepped in it in 1994 and it stuck to my shoe, lol.
Where are you originally from? Hinton, WV
What are your favorite hobbies? Reading historical fiction; walking my two dogs.
What would you most likely tell your 13 old self? Find Homestead sooner...(tee hee)
If you could have coffee with three people, dead or alive, who would it be? My Pa-paw; Ellen DeGeneres; Dolly Parton (preferably all together)
Who is the most famous person you have ever met? Eric Clapton
What is your dream vacation? Must involve mountains....Appalachian, Great Smoky, Rocky or Teton are my faves.
What is the one THING, you can't live without? ZipFizz (My morning wake-up drink)
What is your proudest moment at Homestead? Completing the sale of Bentley above the NOI goal set by the owner.
What is on your retirement bucket list? Simple living, hopefully in WV.
Jen Radcliffe, Home Office, 14 Years
Sierra Belt, Orchard Grove, 4 Years
Stephen Montell, UV, 8 Years
Travis Lane, Parkway, 4 Years
Jeannette Groves, Schrock Park, 2 Years