ARTICLE
"A real game-changer,” Elevator and other improvements for St. Vincent de Paul Place Matt Grahn, Norwich Bulletin The elevator project is part of $1.7 million worth of grant and aid-funded capital improvement projects for the food pantry. Other projects include buildouts for the upper two floors of the former school building, including creating two healthcare rooms, and two handicapped bathrooms. The freight elevator, which can carry 5,000 lbs., will be out to bid in a matter of weeks, and will be finished in six months. Beyond what’s planned, space in the upper levels will be repurposed as needed, though the upper levels are already used for many types of storage, Building Committee Chair Peter Gale said. Other renovations at St. Vincent de Paul Place Other recent renovations at St. Vincent de Paul Place include a new HVAC system, bathrooms with new showers and the addition of a loading dock and outdoor walk-in cooler and freezer, which replaced 24 standing refrigerator units, Corbin said. Post-pandemic, there has been tremendous community need due to increasing costs of living, from groceries to rent. Extra benefits from the pandemic have since expired. At this point, the food pantry serves around 700 families each week, Food Pantry Manager Brian Burke said. The improvements have helped Burke do his job. For example, the loading dock with the cooler and freezer, has reduced unloading times from Foodshare and other large deliveries from six hours to an hour and a half. The elevator will reduce time on the stairs, including for families taking 60 or 70 pounds of food home with them, Burke said. “It opens up so many possibilities,” he said.