Senior Residents Given 30 Days To Move Out Of North Versailles Personal Care Home

Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter

NORTH VERSAILLES (KDKA) - About three dozen senior citizens call the Gardens of Lincoln Couty Personal Car home on the Lincoln Highway in North Versailles home.

The only problem - it may not be their home for long.

State officials showed up at the home Friday and the news was not good.

"It's unbelievable," said Ben Stuenzi, the owner of the personal care home. "I can see that it's real because of all that's gone on today. The state coming in without any notice and bringing a crew, going around telling the residents they had 30 days to get out."

Ben Stuenzi and his wife Mary Lou are the owners of the personal care home and have been planning to return and sell the residence soon, but the eviction order came as a surprise to both them and the residents.

"They're shocked, full of questions. Some of them are looking for places to go."

North Versailles has revoked the home's occupancy permit because of what it calls safety and construction issues at the facility.

Stuenzi says they have stopped their remodeling because the township said they were doing the remodeling without proper permits.

The Township also said they need a sprinkler system, but because of the building construction, Stuenzi says experts have told him he does not need one.

The toughest part of the relocation order, he says, is the impact this order will have on residents.

"Some of them are mobile, some are immobile. They are all in need of some kind of care. There are some that just had their 100th birthday."