In an effort to enhance an atmosphere of Lancaster County heritage at Garden Spot Village, the retirement community is completing the final touches on award-winning renovations this week.
Renovations to the Village Square include updates to Main Street by enhancing a café and a casual dining location, as well as improving the entrance. Tomorrow, a donated iron tree sculpture will be placed in the square.
According to Garden Spot Village CEO Steve Lindsey, between the renovations to Village Square and the dining space, the cost was $3 million.
Timber and framing were added to the large atrium to create a sense of Lancaster County. Along Main Street there is now Refresh! Coffee, Gifts, Essentials, offering residents a retail store and coffee shop.
Updates were made to the casual dining option, The Harvest Table, which focuses on a farm-to-table concept. The new layout was completed by RLPS Architects of Lancaster and Scopos, a restaurant design firm in Ephrata.
The design recently won an award in the Environments for Aging publication, which covers senior living. Each year the publication compiles architectural and interior design projects that represent innovative design in senior care facilities across the nation. This year, 59 projects were submitted and 47 were accepted to be published in the spring issue of EFA.
“The renovation project at Garden Spot Village earned the top honor of Award of Merit,” Lindsey said.
Sommerset Farms and Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative are local farms that contribute to the farm-to-table concept, and an employee of Garden Spot Village travels to the farms during the summer to collect produce.
Though the facility is currently looking for an alternative, in the winter months traditional sources for produce are still being used.
The farm-to-table concept is not new for Garden Spot Village, but the updated dining space allows patrons to view the fresh produce, as everything is made to order at different stations in the restaurant.
Renovations were done by Warfel Construction of East Petersburg. The construction company also donated the iron tree sculpture, which was created by Amos Glick of Compass Ironworks in Gap.
Garden Spot Village has about 1,000 residents, and is one of the largest in the country, according to Lindsey.
