A year delayed, The Waters of McMurray celebrates grand opening
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Participating in The Waters of McMurray ribbon-cutting Thursday were Steve McCarron, chairman of the Peters Township Chamber of Commerce board of directors; The Waters CEO Tami Kozikowski; The Waters Executive Director Christine Panepinto; state Sen. Devlin Robinson; state Rep. Natalie Mihalek; Washington County Commissioner Larri Maggi, and Peters Township council member Frank Kosir.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
The Waters of McMurray is located at 441 Valley Brook Road.
Though it opened a year ago, The Waters of McMurray celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon.
COVID-19 prevented the senior living facility from marking the opening in 2021, and Executive Director Christine Panepinto said they now felt they could celebrate while keeping residents safe.
“We’re taking all precautions. We’re doing screenings at the door, masks are required whenever in the building and we’re temping everybody coming in,” Panepinto said.
Panepinto was joined by company CEO Tami Kozikowski from their headquarters in Minnesota. The Waters has several locations, two of them in Pennsylvania. That includes the most recent development on Valley Brook Road in Peters Township and another facility in Wexford.
Elected officials also joined the event, including state Sen. Devlin Robinson, state Rep. Natalie Mihalek, Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi and Peters Township Council Vice Chairman Frank Kosir. The Peters Township Chamber of Commerce helped organize the event.
The ribbon cutting was followed by tours of the facility, and food provided by The Waters’ in-house chef.
Panepinto said that a year in, they are happy with how The Waters has been received.
“It’s been beyond expectations for this first year. It really has been. We have such a thriving community,” Panepinto said.
There are currently 80 residents at The Waters, and 127 apartments. Panepinto said 17 of those apartments are specifically for residents in need of memory care.
Opening a facility for seniors in the midst of a pandemic was “scary,” according to Panepinto.
“We learned a lot from it. We were very cautious when we did it. We didn’t want to bring 10 people in in a day. We wanted to bring in maybe one or two residents at a time, spread them out throughout the months to come,” Panepinto said.
Panepinto also thanked the local officials who have supported The Waters moving into Peters.
“The chamber, as well as the township, we have a great relationship with them. Anytime we have questions we reach out to them and they refer people to us. They know our residents, our residents know them, because most of our residents are from the township,” Panepinto said.