The Ronald McDonald Charities of Jacksonville recently completed a major expansion of its facility at 824 Children’s Way that serves as a “home away from home” for children and their families. The expansion was highlighted in the December 2016 issue of First Coast Magazine.   

The article included stunning four-color photos and featured the contributions from W.G. Pitts Company.  W.G. Pitts, an award-winning General Contracting, Architecture, Construction and Development Management firm, provided design and construction services for the rooftop garden, an interactive playroom, a commercial volunteer kitchen, and a monumental stair tower.

The article read, in part,

“Creating a place of comfort and beauty is what the Ronald McDonald House renovation celebrates, and W.G. Pitts Company encompassed both while building the rooftop garden.”

The rooftop garden provides an important new space at the Ronald McDonald House. It provides a beautiful green space for families and their guests to relax, visit, reflect and enjoy the outdoors and includes a pergola, planters, a fountain, a pavilion and garden seating.

A Haven of Peace and Hope | First Coast Magazine

FIRSTCOASTMAGAZINE.COM

The Phase I and Phase II expansion increased the facility from 30 rooms to 53 rooms and from 42,000 square feet to 65,000 square feet. The expansion added new guest suites, a refreshed family kitchen, a new volunteer kitchen, a larger dining room, an interactive playroom, and a beautiful rooftop garden.

The third phase will renovate and expand approximately 30,000 square feet and will include a complete renovation of 30 bedrooms, including four bone marrow rooms for immune-sensitivity. These rooms will be designed with special filtration for children who receive bone marrow transfusions. The third phase will also include a Learning Center, a Fitness Center, and two new spaces to support Learning and Health & Wellness initiatives.

The Learning Center at Ronald McDonald House will provide an informal setting for children and families to learn through digital education. The space will provide iPads, computers, flat screens, educational toys, and games. This center will help the many children and their siblings served by RMHC of Jacksonville who miss school, are home-schooled, or study with tutors. The Fitness Center at Ronald McDonald House will be a place for parents to engage in daily light exercise with treadmills, elliptical machines, yoga classes, stretch classes, or a “Mommy and Me” class

Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Jacksonville serves as a “home away from home,” providing lodging, meals, transportation and a community of compassionate care to families who need to be near a hospital for their child’s treatment. Supporting five local hospitals, RMHC of Jacksonville serves more than 1,100 families a year. In addition to its core program, the Ronald McDonald Family Room^® at Wolfson Children’s Hospital provides a place of respite for more than 25,000 visitors a year. RMHC of Jacksonville continues to serve the growing number of children and families who need its programs as the world-class pediatric services offered in Northeast Florida expand. RMHC of Jacksonville has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, the largest independent charity evaluator in the United States. To learn more about RMHC of Jacksonville, visit www.rmhcjacksonville.org or call (904) 807-HOME.