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Janice Atkeson: A New Look at Essex Court

On Janice Atkeson’s bucket list is a trip to the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. Janice has been to the area before, having visited another Himalayan country, Nepal.

“The air is so fresh, so vigorous,” she says.

However, if her dreams are in the clouds, Janice’s feet are very firmly anchored on the ground in Essex, specifically on the renovations at Essex Court, the property overseen by the Essex Housing Authority (EHA) in Centerbrook.

The current work was financed with a $1.5 million Small Cities Program grant to the Town of Essex from the State of Connecticut. It is the fourth time that Essex has designated EHA as the recipient of the Small Cities grant funds.

Janice was chair of the EHA for over a decade. She stepped down from that position in January, but continues as a member of the board. D.G. Fitton is the new chairperson.

After the town solicited bids for the present renovations at Essex Court, Janice organized the project participants and provided oversight.

Janice has had some experience with building. She has been involved in the building of three houses for her own family and is still chair of the board of Essex Place (also in Centerbrook), which is operated and owned by Essex Elderly and Affordable Housing (EEHA), an independent non-profit organization that has no affiliation with either the town or the state. Janice was chair of the group during the period when Essex Place was built. It opened for residence in 2017.

Both Essex Court and Essex Place are designed for affordable senior living, although their income requirements differ. One similarity is that both have considerable waiting lists for available apartments. According to Janice, the list for Essex Court has over 50 people, and the waiting list for Essex Place has nearly 40. Janice says the time on the waiting list to get living space is usually from two to three years.

Janice’s first experience in working with senior living came even before she moved to Essex 20 years ago. Janice was on the board of a town-run nursing home when she and her late husband, George “Tip” Atkeson, lived in Greenwich.

“That was in a past world, but the nursing home was really the underbelly of Greenwich. No one wanted to think about it,” she recalls.

Janice says that the current renovation to Essex Court, which was built 40 years ago, includes changes to the community room that previously accommodated only 16 of the complex’s 36 residents for popular Wednesday group lunches. Now, there is room for everybody to attend—and to sit on new furniture.

In addition, the kitchen has been expanded, and a second private office has been added, providing a place where residents can meet privately with social service representatives to discuss individual issues.

There is also a renovated laundry room, which now has an entrance from the outside. Previously, residents had to walk through the community room for access.

Janice is particularly proud of the new gazebo located behind the community room. She points out that residents wanted to sit outside, particularly during the height of COVID, but the patio was too small and only usable in good weather.

The new gazebo has all-weather, see-through, vinyl curtains and, as a result, can now be used for three seasons in both good weather and bad. Like the community room, it now can accommodate all residents.

Other upgrades to Essex Court include generators for power outages for all units, as well as the upgrading of units with new hot water heaters, storm doors, and HVAC.

EHA and EEHA are only two of the many community organizations with which Janice has volunteered. In addition, she has been on the boards of the Essex Winter Series, the Essex Library Association, the Essex Historical Society, and the Community Foundation of Middlesex County.

“I want to give back to my community, and especially seniors who need assistance, because I have been so fortunate,” Janice says of her extensive volunteer work. “My career skills have been put to good use as a volunteer.”

Those career skills include the financial and management expertise that Janice honed in the business world.

Janice did her undergraduate collegiate work in her native Tennessee. She grew up in a city that sounds like it has an Italian counterpart, Milan, but the American city is pronounced with an accent on the first syllable, not the second.

Janice has a MBA from Columbia University Business School, and her last four corporate positions were with Fortune 500 companies, among them the SVP Ventures Group of GE Capital and CitiCorp.

“I think you could describe me as lower senior management,” she says. “I learned a lot in those jobs.”

One of the things that Janice learned was the negotiating strategies needed to reach a satisfactory outcome.

“I do have a tinge of toughness,” she says.

There are a few necessary details to get squared away before the Essex Court project is finished. The tentative date for completion is Tuesday, April 30.

However, the reaction from the residents of Essex Court is already clear.

“Everyone there is excited beyond words,” Janice says.

For information about Essex Court or Essex Place, call Property Manager Mary Mansour at 860-662-4529

Applications for Essex Court and Essex Place are available at: www.essexct.gov/essex-housing-authority.