For over 150 years, the Greek Revival landmark at 52 South Hamilton Street in Poughkeepsie has been a sanctuary for Hudson Valley seniors. Now, after narrowly surviving a 2024 closure due to financial struggles, Vassar-Warner Home — Dutchess County’s sole nonprofit independent senior living residence — is officially beginning its next chapter. On Monday, May 4, the historic facility will officially reopen its doors, thanks to private investors and community support.
Recently appointed board president Rich Schuster joined the leadership team soon after learning Vassar-Warner was being shuttered. “I was intimately involved with the home,” he said. “My mom had lived there for 19 years, but I was unaware that there were any financial problems.” Following a closure announcement July 30, 2024, Schuster said the board worked to rethink and restructure the facility’s operational model.
At the time of its would-be-shutdown, Vassar-Warner provided residential care and assisted living services for nearly 60 seniors. Schuster discovered that residents were paying below-market rates. “Many tenants weren’t even paying that,” he said. “We were losing $1,600 per client, per month.”
Ericka Von Salews, the facility’s 10-year executive director, said, “We tried not to turn any resident out: When someone ran out of money, we subsidized them,” she said.
To ensure long-term stability, the board implemented a sustainable fiscal plan focusing on realistic monthly charges, proactive fundraising, and improved public relations. The strategy includes “friend-raiser” events — such as mahjong tournaments, an antiques appraisal show, and a comedy night — designed to draw community attention to the home’s urgent needs.
“This has truly been a grass roots effort to bring Vassar-Warner up to what it should be,” Schuster said.
Photo courtesy Vassar-Warner Home
Von Salews said, “Private donors and investors stepped up to the plate to help, and in June, 2025, we opened an adult day care to [earn money] to help tide us over until we could get our residence going.”
Vassar-Warner’s “Home for the Day” program, which currently serves 15 participants in a small, intimate setting tailored to meet individual needs, according to Von Salews. The adult day service provides supervised care and activities, like painting and gentle exercise, while offering respite for caregivers who need time for errands or a weekend getaway. It is one of three approved county providers, with cost-assistance options available through Dutchess County’s Office for the Aging.
As the 58-room, 30,372-square-foot residence prepares to reopen, the all-volunteer board has been busy renovating the kitchen, remodeling the dishwashing area, and putting on a fresh coat of paint. “Vassar-Warner is a different environment,” Schuster said. “It’s a big old grandma’s house with high ceilings — not a linoleum-floored institution with people sitting in wheelchairs in the hallway.”
The updated facility offers an independent lifestyle; assisted living services, such as help with dressing or toileting, will not be available initially. “But staff will still be there to help 24/7,” Von Salews said. “We will also provide housekeeping, activities, and meals. A lot of senior living [facilities] charge extra for that,” she said. “We have a monthly rate that’s all-inclusive.”
Von Salews said the fact that Vassar-Warner is a nonprofit institution makes it different from the other senior residences across the county. “We’re not in it to make money, but to care for people in the community,” she said. “It creates a different type of environment this way: It’s very personal. We’re like a family.”
Vassar-Warner Home’s grand reopening is planned for June. Resident applications are currently being accepted on their website.