Vito Gallo Building Celebreates 24th Anniversary

For some, it's hard to believe it's been 24 years since the Vito A. Gallo Building was opened.

But for others, they remember the 12-year process to get the building designed, funded and built like it happened yesterday.

The building's namesake, Vito Gallo, is one of them.

Gallo, who retired from his position as the executive director of the Summit Housing Authority in 2005, said the need for senior housing in Summit was evident long before the building was constructed.

Three sites were considered:

• A wooded site at the end of Hobart Avenue and Franklin Place
• Elm Street between the Village Green and Morris Avenue
• The community redevelopment area between Chestnut Avenue and the post office

The Elm Street location was deemed to be an inappropriate size and the Hobart Avenue was dropped when more than 1,800 residents sign a petition in opposition of the location.

What existed on the site currently occupied by 12 Chestnut Street in the 1930's was largely tenement housing and small businesses.

"It's hard to understand how poor the quality of the housing stock was," Gallo said."This was the wrong side of the tracks. It was what the private sector could produce for poor people."

But in order to build senior housing, the 88 families who lived in tenement housing needed to be relocated.

One of the major goals Gallo had was to preserve a sense of community in the new building despite the destruction of everything that existed in that space.

To also get a sense of what the seniors in the community wanted in their new home, a survey was sent to many residents inquiring about their daily habitats and needs.

"We learned a lot about who the people were," Gallo said.

As a result of the surveys, decisions were made about the design of the building to help accommodate its future residents. For example, the height of the kitchen cabinets was lowered to adjust for the shorter heights of many of the seniors. Also, decks were added on the west-side of the building as many seniors said they enjoyed sitting out in the sun in the afternoon.

"I'm very proud of what I accomplished there," Gallo said. "But I didn't do it alone."

Gallo and architects Chapman and Biber toured several other senior housing projects around the state to get ideas for this building.

One of the things they knew they wanted was a Tenant Association to self-govern the building.

"It was about empowerment," he said. "It always has been."

In order to also make the new units feel more like home, Gallo added subtle details to make the transition into group-home living easier on the seniors. The door to each unit was set back from the hallway to give residents an entryway to put plants or other welcome items in front of their new home.

Gallo also wanted to add a greenhouse to the roof, but other priorities for the project resulted in the greenhouse never being built.

But programming has evolved dramatically over the years.

An art program was recently started for residents as well as a Wii program for residents to get in some psychical activity.

"It's the gift that keeps on giving to the community," Gallo said.

And the demand to live in the Senior Building is greater now than ever before.

Executive Director of the Summit Housing Authority today, Lou Riccio, said the current waiting list for the Vito A. Gallo Building is between one and two years.

"We can't expand this building," Riccio said. "But we could use additional senior housing in Summit."

The kitchens as well as the floors in the all of the units were recently redone. Riccio says shortly the windows will also all be replaced from casement crank windows to new sliders.

However, the biggest undertaking is no doubt the replacement of the 24-year-old roof, which Riccio says has leaked since the day it was installed.

Despite the changes, both past, present and future, Resident Penny Hanak said she just feels lucky that she got in when she did: 24 years ago.

"I'm just so happy living here," the tenant association board member said.