Dear Westminster Shores residents,
Thank you for your patience as we have been assessing the storm surge damage caused by Hurricane Helene. We know that these have been challenging circumstances. Our team has been hard at work on developing a plan to remediate storm damage and to restore services as quickly as possible.
We want to provide you with a few updates on the status of our plans and services.
Resident Services: Full dining services are now back open in the Bahama Dining Room, with free meals through Saturday, October 5. The Alta Marina restaurant in Sunrise Point will be closed for 2 weeks. The 1926 Wine bar will re-open starting Wednesday, but without food for now. The Fitness Center, pickleball court and Bocce court will re-open this week.
Security: We will have additional third-party security personnel on site from 6 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., seven days a week. Please take reasonable precautions to ensure your items are secure, such as locking doors to your home and vehicle, and securing personal belongings safely.
Status of Repair: A total of 41 apartments, villa homes and single family homes were flooded with Category 3 “gray water,” and are uninhabitable at this time. This includes all Assisted Living Bahama Villas, including the dining room and activities, as well as the first floor of the Allen and Baynard buildings, 12 single-family homes, nine Independent Living villa homes, and the therapy building and clubhouse.
We have outside experts working on remediation, including cleaning and storing furnishings that are salvageable, and HVAC contractors and electricians onsite to help with repair. All residences have equipment in place to stabilize the environment, but until all personal contents have been removed, we cannot properly dry out the structures.
The Allen Building elevator is currently not working and is not expected for at least a week. No personal effects may be stored in the stairwells, including wheelchairs or walkers, for safety.
Remediation: We have brought in two expert outside companies, Avid and Coastal Restoration, to do individual unit clean-out of salvageable items, which they will clean and store. We will be set an appointment to walk through your residence with a team member and a restoration expert to make determinations. If you are not in the area, we can do it via FaceTime. Appointment settings will begin soon and a team member will be reaching out to you about this.
Your renter’s insurance policy should cover this cost, and we will provide documentation to submit to your insurer. If you do not have renter’s insurance, a bill will be provided to you for these services.
Temporary Relocation: Westminster team members are hard at work to provide alternate housing for all affected residents. A separate communication will be provided to each group of affected residents to inform them of our plan to offering them a temporary residence.
Assisted Living: The residents in the Underwood Building have returned from Winter Park. We have assessed the building and determined that thankfully, it was not damaged and all life safety systems function.
Due to the extensive damage to the Bahama Villas, these Assisted Living residents are temporarily relocating to Westminster Palms while we can determine permanent placements.
In closing, we appreciate your understanding as we navigate these challenging times.
As you see our team members going about their work, we hope you will share in our gratitude to them for their service. Many of them spent the last week in Winter Park with Assisted Living residents, and sadly, many team members’ homes were also damaged. They returned to work enthusiastically to continue living out our Mission of service.
Thank you for choosing Westminster Shores.
Sincerely,
Janet Herron
Executive Director