St. Coletta to host holiday open house
JEFFERSON — In conjunction with Jefferson’s 175th birthday celebration, St. Coletta of Wisconsin will be hosting a holiday open house at their new headquarters on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 1 to 4 p.m. The open house is free to the public and people are invited to stop by for a number of holiday activities.
Jump on board for a winter hayride around the grounds, view the life-size nativity scene originally donated by Cardinal Cushing, or warm up inside with holiday snacks and beverages while taking an interactive guided facility tour. Hayrides and facility tours are on a first-come basis and run approximately 15 minutes each.
St. Coletta of Wisconsin’s headquarters is located at N4637 Cty. Rd. Y, Jefferson. Visit www.stcolettawi.org or call 920-674-4330 for more information.
JEFFERSON — St. Coletta of Wisconsin announces that they have finalized all details in the sale of its historic 38-acre Tax Incremental District (TID) school campus to Todd Schultz, developer of Sanctuary Ridge, LLC.
Founded in 1904 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi in Milwaukee, St. Coletta of Wisconsin is one of the nation’s oldest organizations dedicated to championing the rights of persons with disabilities to be included in all aspects of life.
Community-based services
Consistent with national trends, St. Coletta started shifting its business model from an institutional model to a community-integrated service model more than a decade ago.
Under the continued sponsorship of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, the organization successfully transformed its operation and now provides community-based services in Jefferson, Waukesha, Madison, and throughout northern Illinois.
“We see this sale as an exciting opportunity for St. Coletta and the Jefferson community to grow with new industry trends, and we have already transitioned to our new headquarters at the recently renovated Alverno facility across the street on County Road Y,” said Anthony LoDuca, St. Coletta president and CEO.
“The sale is a major component of a planned transformation that has been underway for the past 10 years as we have been developing dynamic community-based residential and vocational/day service programs. Currently, we serve over 150 individuals in the Jefferson community, utilizing 30 homes owned by St. Coletta, in addition to a number of other client-owned properties,” said LoDuca.
Former site’s charm maintained
The St. Coletta school campus is located on U.S. Hwy. 18 and represents the eastern-most border of the Jefferson County seat and was annexed into the City of Jefferson in 2006. St. Coletta employs over 400 individuals and adds in excess of $15 million annually to the local economy.
St. Coletta’s Vice President of Operations & Support Services, Ted Behncke, stated, “We are excited with the sale closure and are comforted that Todd Schultz will maintain the rich historic nature of our former home. This campus is an architectural treasure for all of southeastern Wisconsin and certainly a key landmark for the citizens of Jefferson.”
Behncke goes on to say, “It’s definitely encouraging to see Vetro Winery already conducting business on the east end of the property and we look forward to other potential businesses doing the same.”
More reasons to celebrate
There are a number of reasons for St. Coletta of Wisconsin to celebrate right now. In addition to the school campus sale to Sanctuary Ridge, their Waukesha program that serves 27 individuals is in the middle of a large residential expansion project constructing two brand new, state-of-the-art, fully accessible homes that are set to be completed by the end of 2011.
“The new homes in Waukesha have been designed with the future of those St. Coletta serves in mind, allowing them to ‘age in place’ further preventing any admission into a costly nursing home typesetting,” said Liz Brzeski, Waukesha program manager.
“These residences are an excellent addition to our housing options and they accentuate perfectly St. Coletta’s devotion to our clients and the communities we serve,” Brzeski said.