Louie Scarfo, second from left, owner of Liberty Manor, is joined by, left-right, Westfield Mayor Daniel Knapik, Charlie Pignatare, construction foreman, Maura McCarthy, aide to State Rep. Donald Humason Jr., and Westfield Ward 1 City Councilor Christopher Keefe, on the site where a new community center will be constructed at the 74 Russellville Road location. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – Westfield’s 150 acre 55 and over retirement community, Liberty Manor, has just reached a new milestone. On Friday morning, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Freedom Hall, a 3,000- square-foot community center.
Freedom Hall will boast a multi-use banquet room, fully equipped kitchen, exercise room, and library with fireplace. There will also be an attached sun porch and open air porch for relaxation. For the active, the newly landscaped grounds will provide areas for shuffle board and horse shoes, along with walking trails leading to and from Liberty Manor’s Sunflower Park.
Officiating at the groundbreaking ceremony was Westfield Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, assisted by Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe, Director of Community Development Peter Miller and State Representative Don Humason’s Chief of Staff, MauraMcCarthy. Representing Liberty Manor was Westfield Developer Louis Scarfo and Scarfo Construction Supervisor, Charles Pignatare. Each with shovel in hand performed the ceremonial groundbreaking for Freedom Hall. Developer Scarfo used a silver ceremonial shovel, which will be engraved and eventually displayed in the foyer of the new building. Following the ceremony, refreshments were served and a tour of a model home was provided.
Liberty Manor is a community of manufactured homes offering seniors a comfortable, as well as an affordable, life style. Following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Mr. Scarfo, in recognition of the patriotic wave sweeping the nation, decided on a patriotic theme for his newest development. From that theme emerged the project name, Liberty Manor, and the community center name, Freedom Hall. Preparation of the construction site will begin at once, with completion of the community center by late spring or early summer of next year.
