Albion bed and breakfast will become senior assisted living site

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 May 2014 at 12:00 am

ALBION – A former Catholic school on Brown Street that was turned into a bed and breakfast a decade ago is in the process of being sold and will become an adult daycare and assisted living site.

Tender Loving Family Care Inc. currently operates similar sites in Brockport, Le Roy and Batavia. The Le Roy site has a waiting list, and some Orleans County residents have expressed interest in staying there. That prompted Annika D’Andrea, the business’s president and CEO, to look for a spot in Orleans County.

Lou and Jeri Becker, both Xerox retirees, bought the property 10 years ago and turned it into the Erie Canal Schoolhouse Bed and Breakfast with four guest rooms. Those rooms and another one will be available for seniors to stay in with staff on site.

Tender Loving Family Care also is planning to have an adult daycare where seniors can stay during the day with structured activities.

The Village Planning Board approved a special use permit for the project at its meeting this afternoon.

The Beckers had many community events at the location, including a tribute day for Charles Howard, the founder of a Santa Claus School in Albion, and also a 100th anniversary celebration for the former St. Mary’s Catholic School.

The Beckers are working to close the Bed and Breakfast on July 21. Cindy Ingraham, a realtor and friend of D’Andrea’s, told the Village Planning Board that the site could be open for senior citizens in September.

“It’s turnkey,” she said. “We expect to be open within 30 days after the closing.”

The Beckers believe the new use will be a good fit for the location.

“We’re excited,” Mr. Becker said. “The people who went to school there can come back and finish their last years.”

Tender Loving Family Care expects to have an open house for the community before the business opens in Albion.