The Centre Crest nursing home in Bellefonte was built in the 1939, and it’s ready for a complete makeover.

About 230 people call the facility home, including Thelma Furgerson.

She said it’s a place she can go through the halls and everyone says ‘Good morning!’ and knows you by name.

She’s lived at the home for about year now and believes with age inevitably comes the need for extra assistance.

“When you live to be 91 years of age, you need help,” Furgerson said.

But Centre Crest will soon be outdated.

The oldest portion of the building is 78 years old and won’t pass new building regulations, there’s a waiting list for offered programs, and some rooms are just too small.

“We’re old, and we need a little space,” Furgerson said.

Next year construction will kick off for the new facility behind what used to be the Starlite Drive-in Theatre.

It will still offer 240 beds but the rooms will have an extra 100 sq. ft., and the number of private rooms will go from 4 to 66.

Andrew Naugle, Nursing Home Administrator, said it’s a much needed upgrade.

“The more care we can give them, the more opportunities we can give them to succeed in their home,” Naugle said.

The Secure Dementia Unit will be expanded to care for more people.

It will also feature a new rehabilitation center for seniors transitioning from the hospital back to home.

The $39 million project will be funded by equity savings, a USDA loan and local bank financing.

Naugle said the benefits undoubtedly outweigh the cost.

“When a resident moves here we become their family. And we’re here as much time as they are. You know a lot of people here work a lot of hours and this becomes their second family so this is a home for a lot of people,” Naugle said.

“You’re not like you’re forgotten, and I like that,” Furgerson said.

Construction will begin in 2018 and is expected to wrap up in 2020.