By Lorraine Sidell, Special to JTNews
Plans for creating the Summit at First Hill were 16 years in the making, according to Josh Gortler, CEO of the Kline Galland Home. At that time, the board of directors at the home visited many sites, and discussions were held over the years. The board of directors began to think it was time to look at properties. They traveled to sites all over the state – north as far as the Candian border, in Mt. Vernon, and in the Central area of Seattle.
One property in the Central area was a vacant lot, and the other the abandoned former Maynard Hospital. Gortler accompanied David Benoliel, chairman of the property acquisition committee, and Sam Stroum to view the property. After visiting the site, they didn’t know if they should build inside the city or not, but ultimately decided that this was the right place for the retirement home.
They met with Priscilla Bullitt Collins, owner of the property, and held a campaign to finance the purchase of the property through the sale of bonds. Collins agreed to accept interest at the lowest rate available, and payment was begun on the sale of the property.
When it came time to pay Collins the final $800,000, Benoliel asked her if she would like to make a contribution toward the building fund, and she asked how much they might expect. Benoliel responded that $800,000 would be an acceptable amount. Collins took out her own checkbook and promptly made out her own check for that amount.
Collins has since passed away, but the memory of her generosity to the Jewish community and to the residents of the Summit lives on in perpetuity.
Lorraine Sidell spent 10 years writing for the Jewish Transcript.