Holy Angels Dedicates Treescape Campus, Largest Expansion in Organization's 70-Year History

BELMONT, N.C. — Surrounded by donors, families, elected officials, community supporters and faith leaders, Holy Angels officially dedicated and blessed the new Treescape Campus on June 18, celebrating the completion of the largest expansion project in the organization's 70-year history.

The 4.5-acre campus was designed specifically for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and delicate medical conditions. Construction was completed in June, and 18 residents, as young as 3 years old, are expected to move into their new homes later this summer.

"This campus is more than a collection of beautiful buildings," said Holy Angels President and CEO Kerri Massey during the dedication ceremony. "It reflects what happens when love leads the way. Every detail was designed with one question in mind: 'How can we make this space better for our residents?' Those small decisions have added up to something extraordinary."

The Treescape Campus includes three six-bedroom homes named Maple, Magnolia and Dogwood in honor of the native trees surrounding the property. Each home features private bedrooms, family-style living and dining spaces, multisensory rooms and accessible outdoor areas designed to help residents feel safe, comfortable and at home.

The campus also includes the new Holy Angels Community Center, featuring Salzman Pool, a fully accessible saltwater pool designed to give residents freedom of movement and recreation that only water can provide. The building also houses Lengers Hall, now the organization's largest gathering space, and a commercial kitchen where individualized meals will meet the dietary needs of 88 residents.

"Our children's campus wasn't built by one person. It was built by families who shared their hopes, donors who gave generously, architects who listened carefully, construction crews who worked through heat and rain, and staff who imagined what could be," Massey said. “Together, this community helped to create a place where children can grow surrounded by beauty, comfort and care."

The true impact of the campus is best understood through the families, whose lives it will touch. One of the most moving moments of the ceremony came from parent Sara Anderson, whose son Nolan will move into the Treescape Campus later this summer after nearly seven years at Holy Angels.

"As a mother of a child with special needs, this expansion is a dream come true," Anderson said. "We all hope and pray that our children have a happy and healthy life, and these new homes and community center will help ensure that very wish."

Anderson shared her excitement after touring the completed campus, describing the private bedrooms, open living spaces and indoor pool that residents and families will soon enjoy.

"This has truly been a labor of love, and we should all be so proud that we were able to have a part in making this dream a reality," she said.

The project represents years of planning and more than a decade of visioning. Regina Moody, president emeritus of Holy Angels and driving force behind the expansion, reflected on the journey that brought the campus to life.

"Here at Treescape, our kids will get to live like other kids — with their own room, spaces that meet their unique needs and connections to nature all around them," Moody said. "We broke ground on this site in December of 2023, and I couldn't be prouder to be standing here today with all of you to celebrate all that this place will become."

Moody also recognized the many organizations and individuals who helped make the project possible, including the Sisters of Mercy, local and state government partners, donors, architects, contractors and consultants.

A special thank you was extended to the State of North Carolina, whose support helped advance the project, as well as the countless donors, foundations and community partners whose generosity transformed a vision into reality.

The campus was designed by Boomerang Design and constructed by Southside Constructors, longtime Holy Angels partners who previously worked on the nonprofit’s two largest homes for adults. This project required the expertise of 11 design professionals, more than 39 subcontractors and more than 75,000 hours of construction work, with 95% of subcontractors and material suppliers coming from the local region.

"When it came time to dream about this campus, these two groups once again embraced our vision from the very beginning and understood that this project was about much more than buildings," Moody said. "Their expertise, patience and shared belief in this mission helped transform an idea into the beautiful campus you see today."

The dedication featured a symbolic ribbon-opening ceremony, during which residents Wyatt and Nora, along with their families, helped "unwrap" the campus as a gift from the community. Bishop Michael T. Martin, joined by Abbot Placid Solari, Father Dennis Kuhn and representatives of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, blessed each home and outdoor gathering space across the campus.

In his remarks, Bishop Martin pointed out that “the residents of Holy Angels reveal to us God's image and likeness through their different abilities,” and prayed that Holy Angels would continue the challenge to “find ways that the world can come to know and experience and appreciate […] that these children of God who are differently abled reflect to us God's image and likeness in a way that we would never have imagined, and which evokes from us something we could have never imagined in ourselves.”

Holy Angels leaders emphasized that while the Treescape Campus marks a major milestone, the next chapter for these residents is already taking shape. Holy Angels plans to construct a purpose-built Learning Center adjacent to the new homes, providing classrooms, specialized therapies and flexible learning spaces for school-age residents. The organization hopes to open the Learning Center for the 2027-2028 school year.

For now, however, the focus remains on the next step: coordinating the move-in for 18 children whose lives will soon be transformed by the new campus.

"This campus is rooted in the love of countless people who believed in its potential, and we know the miracles are still to come,” Massey said. "The lives that will be lived here, the memories that will be made here and the future that will take shape here are the greatest celebration of all.”