BUILDINGS THROUGH THE DECADES, Part 3

The construction that began in 1987 to build a new Skilled Nursing Facility was the first of two phases. After completion of the first part in 1989, Solheim turned to the second phase, the building of Merton Manor. The three buildings along Merton Avenue (Annex, old administration, Superintendent’s home) were all torndown in 1989 to make way for the construction of Merton Manor, completed in 1990 and containing resident units and the new administration area. Only the south part of the old administration area, the residential dining room and the Chapel, are still in existence, now connected by a ramp to the new building.

The old 19-bed nursing unit was converted to Personal Service rooms in 1989, and in 2000 became part of the Halvorson Memory Care Unit, along with the rooms constructed in 1954 and 1957. Personal Service as a separate unit ceased in 2000, as an “aging in place” policy allowed for assisted living services wherever needed.

All the current buildings (1954, 1957, 1965, 1981, 1989, 1990, 2000) are physically connected, either during the original construction or during a change of use, while still maintaining security for the Halvorson Memory Care Unit. Interior remodeling and/or reconstruction continues.

Sources:

“Solheim Lutheran Home, Its Life and Times, 1923-1996” by Elizabeth Batchelder and Joyce Dohlin, 1996

Photo: Map