Everything old is new again.
Joe Auteri of Bradford and his brother, Gino, both of Allegany
Valley Management LLC, are in the process of renovating the former
assisted living home at 139 Minard Run Road in Bradford Township,
and turning the building into a high-end hotel.
Joe Auteri said the building, which has stood at that location
for more than 100 years, will be converted into a 16-room,
all-suite hotel. He said rooms will be available for rent for a
night or for extended stays.
Auteri went on to say he expects the hotel would be most useful
to businesses bringing associates into town for several days,
adding the location works with U.S. Route 219 close by, as well as
the industries in Lewis Run.
The suite-style rooms will include kitchenettes and king or
queen size beds, he said.
The new hotel, which will be called the Suite Serenity Inn,
Auteri announced during a Bradford City Council meeting in May, is
not intended to be a bed and breakfast. He said the concept is
geared more toward business travelers or tourists staying for a
long weekend.
Auteri said Allegany Management purchased the property two years
ago this April and investigated various options, including dividing
the building into apartments.
Bradford Township Zoning Officer Jack Carns said during a
meeting of the township supervisors that he has issued a permit to
Allegany Management for interior renovation and work at the Minard
Run location.
“Right now, we’ve finished the demolition and the contractors
are starting to frame up the rooms and install electricity and
telephone service,” Auteri said. “We’re in the very early stages of
interior construction.”
According to the McKean County Tax Assessment Office, Allegany
Management purchased the property for $90,000. In May, the City of
Bradford approved a $150,000 loan for the Auteri brothers for work
at the soon-to-be hotel.
Before Allegany Management bought the building and grounds, it
was an assisted living or nursing home under several different
owners and names, including The Oasis and most recently, Pleasant
Hills.
According to Bradford Landmark Society curator Sally Costik, the
building, most commonly referred to as “the Hannum Home,” was built
in 1903 and served as “The Poor Farm.”
Before there was assistance for the poor, elderly and
handicapped at the county level, she said, it was the duty of the
individual municipalities to care for those individuals. The Poor
Farm was a home for the homeless in those days, run by a “Poor
Master” and “Poor Board.” Costik said she has located articles
referring to “Poor Master Tom Ryan” from that time period.
In the 1930s, the state passed a law placing the responsibility
for caring for the needy on the county, and The Poor Farm was
disbanded. On Nov. 1, 1946, Dr. O.S. Hannum bought the property and
started a hospital, which was run by a Roy Salsbury, Costik
said.
It was called the Fairview Hospital and then the Fairview Rest
Home, which was its official name when Hannum presented the
building to the First Baptist Church in 1964. It was a church-run
home for individuals with assisted living needs until the Bradford
Ecumenical Home was formed, and was then bought and sold several
times as commercial property.
