Old Dubuque Home to Become Wheelchair Friendly

By Katie Wiedemann, Reporter

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By Katie Wiedemann

Story Created: Aug 13, 2008 at 4:16 PM CST

Story Updated: Aug 13, 2008 at 4:21 PM CST

Dubuque – Getting around the house can be a real chore for someone in a wheel-chair.
That's why one Dubuque woman is helping convert a historic home into an apartment complex that's wheelchair friendly.
It's a project that means balancing historic charm with modern practices.

Sarah Davidson gets around her kitchen with comfort and ease, despite the fact, she's sitting down. In her home the oven and stove top are built into the counter at just the right height. She asked her land-lord to re-design her kitchen so she could access everything from her wheel chair.

Now the sink is lower, the cabinets are lower. For anything she can't reach, she uses a grabbing stick. She wants that kind of freedom for everyone who uses a wheelchair.

Davidson said, "It's one thing if you have to ask once in awhile, but it’s different if you have to depend on somebody else all the time."

On the other side of downtown crews are working to re-store this old Bluff street building, which has become a balancing act. They are turning it into seven new apartments, which make it easy for the people with disabilities to move around their homes.

Shawn Hilborn of Portzen Construction says, "It's actually universal design which exceeds ADA. ADA is the bare minimum. The interiors like the hallway walls for instance we have to keep because it's historically significant, so it will stay.”

One room will become the community kitchen area where the sinks will sit lower so wheel chairs can fit under them. And the oven doors will swing open horizontally so it's easier for people who use wheelchairs.

Davidson said, "Your living space, that should be the place you come back to repair, to restore and if you have something that is constantly reminding you of what you can't do, it's not a comfortable space."

As Davidson says, that's what home is really all about.

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