As was discussed with the dining room renovation, the two major areas of renovation necessary to achieve a better "first impression" for market appeal are the lobby/main entrance and the dining room.

At present, there isn’t any real lobby, as can be seen in the previous section of the original architectural plans. There is only a foyer, which is not much more than a wide corridor. There is a lounge adjacent to the foyer, but it is not really used as a lobby for visitors and residents, as it is mostly used for meetings.

Across from the foyer (right center of the plan) is the corridor to the kitchen and dish room, which is not conducive to a proper first impression. This open corridor also permits noises and odors to enter the lobby area.

In the previous sketch of the proposed renovations, the corridor to the kitchen and dish room has been closed up and the corridor rerouted to the main resident corridor (see sketch in the dining room section of this report).

The exterior walls of the vestibule and lounge have been moved approximately eight feet westward (to the left of the sketch and architectural plan) to create a larger interior entry and lobby.

The vestibule will be approximately the same size as the present one. To the north of the vestibule (above in sketch), we have proposed to construct a large planter or indoor garden with two skylights above to bring in natural light. The planter would be open to the new lobby with windows to the exterior and vestibule.

A lobby has been created by removing the lounge/foyer wall and expanding the proposed lobby through the present office, men’s locker room and men’s toilet room, all of which would be relocated.

The dashed line rectangle in the sketch of the new lobby area is a vaulted ceiling with cove lighting and a chandelier. The dashed lines to the left of the vestibule and planter is the line of a proposed canopy which would extend out to the circular driveway in front of the building. There is no covered entry at the present time, as can be seen in the following section of the architectural plan.

By contrast, the canopy can be seen in the previous sketch.

We have envisioned the canopy extending out to the midpoint of the circular driveway so that there is a by-pass lane to the exterior of the canopy and an unloading lane under the canopy. The canopy would have skylights in it and there would be room under the canopy (on the north side) for a covered patio.

Garden planters would be on both sides of the canopy, and the center of the circle could be turned into another garden.

The main entrance road would also have a planter and a sign welcoming people to Montgomery Meadows.

We estimate the cost of renovating the lobby and the main entrance to be $100,000.00. The cost of constructing the new canopy would be another $65,000.00. We would suggest having an allowance of $10,000.00 for the new entrance sign, and an allowance of $20,000.00 for new landscaping. The total construction and renovation costs for this work would be $195,000.00.