Metro

Coming Home

Hechtman II Apartments expected to reopen in January.

Alan Hitsky
Associate Editor

F

or the former residents and
the staff of the Samuel and
Lillian Hechtman II Jewish
Apartments in West Bloomfield, the
April 9, 2008, fire that nearly destroyed
the building is not a distant memory.
It's ingrained.
But that may change in January
when Hechtman II is scheduled to
reopen with a host of improvements
and upgrades. Jewish Senior Life of
Metropolitan Detroit (JSL), the new
agency that combines the former Jewish
Apartments & Services and Jewish
Home & Aging Services, will begin a
waiting list for the new facility on Oct.
21. Pending approvals, permits and
final construction, Hechtman II should
open right after the first of the year,
said Marsha Goldsmith Kamin, execu-
tive director of JSL.
"The fire was horrible:' said
Goldsmith Kamin. "It could have been
a [human] tragedy, but it wasn't. It was
horrible to live through for the 99 resi-
dents and our staff. But the end result
is an enhanced asset."
The entire building, opened in 1992,
was gutted by contractors and JSL was
able to make some major improve-
ments. Each of the 96 apartments is
brand new and includes a wheel-chair-
accessible stall shower instead of a
bathtub; energy efficient, easy-opening
sliding windows; energy-efficient appli-
ances including, for the first time in JSL
buildings, a dishwasher and microwave.
The upgrades include wood-look
floors, easy-to-read thermostat, roll-out
cabinets, a pantry, lever handles instead
of knobs, higher intensity lights and a
linen closet in the bathroom.
Goldsmith Kamin said the "aesthetics
are top of the line, created by interior
designer Judy Greenwald, who has done
many of our sister agencies."
The building's common areas have
also been enhanced. A demonstration
kitchen will be available for cooking
classes and small private parties. The
elevator lobbies will have small-group
areas for games and meetings. The
main kitchen has been re-designed and
a heated, protected entrance portico is

16

October 1. 2009

The new building has energy-efficient windows.

The walk-in showers are a major improvement

over bathtubs.

being placed in front of the building.
Of the 99 residents, including two
married couples, who lived at Hechtman
II, 78 individuals are still living (the
average age of the residents at the time
of the fire was 89). Some of the resi-
dents moved out of town and some are
living with family. Twenty-nine are liv-
ing in other JSL facilities.
Goldsmith Kamin said the majority of
the 29 are living next door in Hechtman
I. She believes most will opt to remain
where they are and not move back to
their old building. "At their age, do they
want to move again?" she asked. "But for
some, the shower vs. a bathtub might be
a motivator?'
JSL has given the former residents the
right to return and select any apartment
location in Hechtman II. "Eighteen have
decided to come back home:' Goldsmith
Kamin said. She guesses that number
may grow to 20-25, leaving room for 70-
75 new residents.
The new facility may also deplete
the waiting list for the Meer Jewish
Apartments, she believes, because Meer
is now eight years old and Hechtman II
is new and less expensive. The neigh-

boring Hechtman I, however, "remains
the hottest commodity on the face of
the Earth because it's the only HUD
subsidized apartment building in West
Bloomfield."
But Hechtman II will have its charms.
She said the improvements include bet-
ter windows in the dining room to elim-
inate drafts, automatic doors on public
restrooms and laundry rooms and an
additional stairway in the middle of the
hallway for better emergency access.
From two unoccupied studio apart-
ments, JSL has created an activity room
and a wellness center that features a
private, therapeutic, walk-in spa tub
funded by the Sinai Guild. They have
also added a staff lounge with a private
bathroom. The live-in staff apartment
has been expanded to two bedrooms.
"Our average length of stay for resi-
dents in the building was seven years:'
Goldsmith Kamin said. "So people were
coming in fairly independent, but the
changes will allow them to more easily
age in place.
"I cannot wait to see our former resi-
dents come home, to see the look on their
faces when they see the changes?'

JSL Updates

Jewish Senior Life is one of only 10
agencies in the U.S. to win federal
grants for energy improvements
under the federal economic stimulus
package.
In the coming months, JSL will
use $750,000 to replace windows,
heating and cooling units and make
parking lot upgrades at the Prentis II
Jewish Apartments in Oak Park.
Legislation to allow the agency
to modify 29 mostly empty studio
apartments into one-bedroom units
in the adjacent Prentis I building, the
agency's oldest, remains stalled in
Congress.
Several non-profit umbrella orga-
nizations have asked Congress to
change the law for U.S. Housing
and Urban Development subsidized
buildings. JSL's Marsha Goldsmith
Kamin said the bill has been intro-
duced several times by Senator
Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., but no
action has been taken.