User:Vchimpanzee/Aldersgate (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Aldersgate in Charlotte, North Carolina is a retirement community affiliated with the Western North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

History
In 1943, the E. M. Cole family donated 180 acres of land, including the Hezekiah Alexander House, to the Western North Carolina Annual Conference of the Methodist Church.

Laying of the cornerstone took place October 11, 1947.

The Methodist Home for the Aged admitted its first resident June 18, 1948.

Three years after plans began, the home had 72 residents, with a central administration building and two resident units. The 1950 report stated the home was accredited and efficiency apartments, a chapel and hospital facilities were planned. On November 20, 1950, the home was dedicated by Bishops Costen J. Harrell and Paul N. Glaser. By 1952 the home was one of the seven largest Methodist Homes in the country.

About $500,000 in improvements completed in the early 1950s included a new South Wing, George Washington Ivey Memorial Chapel, and the Snyder Building. Total assets were $1.7 million. The Alexander, Branscomb and Cokesbury apartments also opened. Also in the 1950s, the Azalea View cottages opened.

Groundbreaking took place December 1, 1961 for Wesley Nursing Center, opened November 5, 1963 with 248 skilled nursing beds.

Asbury Care Center opened in 1980, with 100 intermediate care beds.

Over the years, The Methodist Home bought more land to increase the total to 250 acres.

In 1987, The Methodist Home for the Aged Inc. changed its name to The Methodist Home Inc. and began work on a $13 million eight-story addition housing 229 people able to live on their own, which would replace parts of the original building, which was being renovated. At the time, about 600 people lived at the three facilities--Epworth Place, Asbury Care Center (intermediate) and Wesley Nursing Center (skilled nursing). On May 6, 1990, the new Epworth Residential Tower was consecrated by Bishop Bevel Jones.

Hurricane Hugo in 1989 caused the loss of many pine trees, so the par-9 Old Master's Golf Course was created and opened in 1992.

In the 1990s, Parker Terrace Assisted Living opened for those who did not need the skilled care provided at the Asbury and Wesley facilities. Also, Wesley Nursing Center became part of Presyterian Healthcare System.

In 1999, the Methodist Home announced a $35 million expansion program and a name change to Aldersgate. The corporate name became Aldersgate United Methodist Retirement Communities. Marketing and admissions director Suzanne Hodge Clark said the name "implies in Methodism a time of transformation and conversions."

Aldersgate changed to a new main entrance at Shamrock Drive and Tipperary Drive in 2001.

In 2002, the staff moved to Ray Hall Community Center and the original building called Olde Main was torn down due to the expense of renovation.

In 2012 Aldersgate began making plans for the 35,000-square-foot Charlotte Museum of History building built in 1999. The museum, which built its first building on the property in 1975, announced plans in March 2013 to leave the building, dividing its operations between the Hezekiah Alexander House and Levine Museum of the New South. Aldersgate already owned the 6.5 acres where the museum was located.