Renovation for Hayden Village Center completed
Published 3:34 pm Wednesday, July 22, 2020
- One of the apartments in the recently completed Hayden Village Center on Oak Street in Franklin. Before renovation, this was the library. The shelves are original to the site. --Submitted Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia
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Janice Hicks, left, reaches for meals to be packaged and delivered to seniors in the Franklin community. With her is Myrick McKinley. — Stephen H. Cowles The Tidewater News
Former high school hosts apartments, mixed-use center
FRANKLIN
The approximate 12-year process — complete with starts and stops — to reclaim a state and national historic site in Franklin has come to fulfillment. What was once home to Hayden High School and Junior High School is now the Hayden Village Center, thanks to the partnership of Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia and Luna Development Partners LLC. Grants from Bank of America Foundation, the Hayden Alumni Association and Franklin-Southampton Charities, to name a few, have also made this vision a reality.
The place retains the name of Hayden, named for Della I Hayden, a Black educator of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A memorial garden in her memory, as well as an intergenerational raised bed community garden are anticipated soon.
Anne Williams, manager, said that inside are 28 apartments, with five already occupied. The facility is also intended as more than a residence. Mixed use includes a multi-purpose community center, Bon Secours Southampton Memorial Hospital’s Primary Care Clinic, I-Ride Transit, office and meeting spaces for the SSSEVA, counseling for Medicare and nutrition, and long-term care services. There’s also a kitchen that’s used for creating meals to be delivered.
Kim Marks, hospital CEO, said, “Bon Secours Southampton Memorial Hospital is excited to partner with Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia to expand services at the Hayden Village Center. At Bon Secours, our mission is to extend the compassionate ministry of Jesus by improving the health and well-being of our communities and to bring good help to those in need, especially people who are poor, dying and underserved. We embrace this opportunity to improving the overall health of the community.”
From left are Angela Blue, Dr. Ruth T. Jones Nichols, Leonna Benson and Sarah Mathews of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. — Stephen H. Cowles The Tidewater News
A sixth tenant, the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, is also established.
“The Healthy Food Pantry Program was made possible through generous funding from the Sentara Foundation – Hampton Roads/Optima Health, Hampton Roads Community Foundation and Obici Healthcare Foundation,” stated Dr. Ruth T. Jones Nichols, president and CEO of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.
Another offering is the web-based No-Wrong Door, which is a statewide network of human services partners, all using the same web-based referral and case management system. NWD allows individuals to connect with the services and supports they need.
To learn more, call Williams at 461-9481 or 377-9471, or visit www.ssseva.org/page/hayden-village-center.
