-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Heavy machinery rumbles through the dirt where the Villa Care Center once stood near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and 10th Avenue North. The Villa Care Center closed in February, one month after it had been placed in legal receivership at the request of the state government because its owner, Blue Care Homes LLC, of New Jersey, said it was unable or unwilling to operate it. The property was purchased by the Marian Home and Village in late September. At that time, Tracy Trotter, the administrator of the Marian Home and Village, said the building would be demolished and the site would be used for future development of senior citizen housing. The nearby Villa Cottages building, also purchased by the Marian Home, will be remodeled and used as an assisted living facility again.