Ronald McDonald House Charities of NCFL leaders showcase completed home

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - After 8 months of remodeling The Ronald McDonald House of NCFL has a new home!

“It is more than thrilling and it wouldn’t have happened without the support of our entire community who helped us raise the 3.4 million dollars,” CEO Sherry Houston and the rest of her team have dreamed of this day when remodeling on the new location began in January.

It has expanded from 22-thousand square feet to 45-thousand, allowing 19 more families to be served.

“We are an indefinite stay house, which means once you get a room, you keep that room until your child is discharged. The average length of stay is 90 days so rooms don’t turn over that quickly. To be able to serve 19 more families on our wish list is truly priceless” said Houston.

The new home is located two blocks away from the previous one and just blocks from the children’s hospital.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at the location on SW 16th Street.

Some notable areas are the new conference room, sweets and treats kitchen, playroom, and butterfly garden.

Families will begin moving in on Monday (8/28) and it should be fully occupied by the end of September.

“It is so exciting we really made this dream a reality. There were so many people who helped us along the way. It wasn’t always fun or pretty but in the end, we have a world-class home that will help families all around the world stay close to their seriously ill child” said Houston.

The video above has a tour from Tim Lee, a superintendent at Parrish McCall.

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