Cherry Hill's Aging-in-Place Home Modification Experts

How Cherry Hill’s Mid-Century Housing Boom Created Today’s Accessibility Crisis

Cherry Hill is South Jersey’s most iconic suburb. What was once Delaware Township — a quiet stretch of farmland east of Camden — transformed during the 1960s and 1970s into a sprawling residential community of nearly 75,000 people. The Cherry Hill Mall opened in 1961 as one of the first enclosed shopping malls on the East Coast, and the housing followed. Developers filled every available parcel with the home styles that defined that era: split-levels, raised ranches, bi-levels, and two-story colonials. Neighborhoods like Kingston Estates, Barclay Farm, Erlton, Woodcrest, and Covered Bridge went up in rapid succession, drawing families from Philadelphia and Camden who wanted larger homes, good schools, and suburban space.

Those families stayed. Many of the people who moved to Cherry Hill in the 1960s and 1970s are still here — now in their seventies, eighties, and beyond. The homes they purchased as young parents have not changed in any fundamental way, but the people living in them have. Joints have been replaced. Balance has deteriorated. The seven steps between the kitchen and the family room that were effortless in 1972 are now a daily source of anxiety and risk.

Accessible Solutions serves Cherry Hill with every aging-in-place modification required to keep residents safe in the homes where they raised their families, built their friendships, and established their lives.

Tackling the Split-Level Layout That Defines Cherry Hill Neighborhoods

No housing style presents a more complex accessibility challenge than the split-level, and no community in South Jersey has more of them than Cherry Hill. Drive through Kingston Estates off Haddonfield Road, through the Barclay Farm developments south of Route 70, or along the tree-lined streets of Erlton, and the staggered rooflines of split-level homes appear on nearly every block.

The split-level design distributes living space across three or four half-floors. A typical Cherry Hill split-level places the living room and kitchen on the main entry level, bedrooms and a full bathroom a half-flight up, and a family room or den a half-flight down, with the garage at ground level beneath the bedrooms. Every transition between functional areas involves stairs — usually seven or eight steps. There is nowhere in the home where a resident can sleep, bathe, eat, and relax without climbing at least one set of stairs.

Our approach to split-level accessibility in Cherry Hill is strategic. We begin by identifying the most critical daily path — typically bedroom to bathroom and bedroom to kitchen. A stairlift on the main interior staircase connects the bedroom level with the kitchen and living area. Upstairs, we convert the hall bathroom from a tub-shower combination to a barrier-free walk-in shower with grab bars, a fold-down bench, and a handheld showerhead. We install grab bars at every short stairway transition and upgrade handrails to meet current safety standards. For families who want to eliminate stairs entirely, we evaluate whether the ground-level family room can be converted into a bedroom suite with an accessible bathroom, creating a self-contained living space on the lowest floor with a ramp to the exterior.

Raised Ranches, Bi-Levels, and the Step That Stops Everything

Cherry Hill’s housing inventory extends beyond split-levels. Raised ranches and bi-levels are prevalent throughout the Covered Bridge, Cherry Hill Estates, and Woodcrest neighborhoods. These homes typically have the main living space elevated four to six steps above grade, with a lower level containing a garage, utility room, and sometimes a recreation room.

The defining accessibility barrier in a raised ranch is the front entry. There is no ground-level entrance to the main living floor. Every trip into and out of the home requires navigating exterior stairs. For a resident using a walker or wheelchair, this single obstacle can be the difference between living independently and moving to a facility.

We install modular aluminum ramp systems at raised ranch entries throughout Cherry Hill, engineered to handle the four-to-six-foot elevation change within the available front yard or side yard space. Our designs incorporate landings and turns that comply with ADA slope requirements while fitting within Cherry Hill’s suburban lot dimensions. The aluminum construction resists corrosion from road salt and seasonal weather, and the modular design allows future reconfiguration or removal without damage to the home.

Inside these homes, the work focuses on bathrooms. Raised ranches from the 1970s and 1980s typically have one full bathroom with a fiberglass tub-shower insert, a 28-to-30-inch doorway, and limited floor space. We widen the doorway to 36 inches, replace the tub-shower with a curbless roll-in shower, install grab bars at the toilet and shower, and add slip-resistant flooring. These modifications address the location where the majority of in-home falls occur among older adults.

The Hospital Corridor That Surrounds Cherry Hill

Cherry Hill sits at the center of a dense hospital and rehabilitation network. Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital is within the township itself. Virtua Voorhees is a short drive east. Cooper University Hospital and the Jefferson system facilities in Camden are minutes across Route 70. Kennedy Health facilities in Stratford and Washington Township are nearby. This concentration of healthcare resources means that Cherry Hill families frequently deal with hospital-to-home transitions that create urgent modification needs.

The pattern is consistent across dozens of families we serve each year. A parent falls at home, breaks a hip, and is transported to Jefferson Cherry Hill. Surgery and initial recovery take a week. Rehabilitation at a skilled nursing facility takes three to four weeks. Then the discharge planner calls the family and says the patient is ready to come home — but the home has a bathtub the patient cannot step into, a front entry with five steps and a loose railing, and a bedroom on a different level than the kitchen.

We coordinate directly with discharge planners and rehabilitation social workers at every major facility near Cherry Hill. When we receive a referral, we assess the home, stage materials from our Atlantic County warehouse, and schedule installation to align with the discharge date. The goal is to have the home ready the day the patient arrives — not three weeks later while the family scrambles with temporary workarounds.

Affluent Neighborhoods, Private-Pay Flexibility, and Long-Term Planning

Cherry Hill is one of the most affluent communities in South Jersey. Median household income is well above the state average, and many residents in neighborhoods like Barclay Farm, Erlton, and the estates along Kings Highway have the financial resources to invest in comprehensive home modifications without relying solely on insurance or Medicaid.

For these families, our work often extends beyond immediate safety concerns into long-term aging-in-place planning. During the initial home assessment, Ray Petkevis walks through the entire property with the family and identifies not only what is needed today but what will likely be needed in three, five, and ten years. A family might start with grab bars and a bathroom conversion now, plan for a stairlift installation when stair climbing becomes unreliable, and eventually pursue a ground-floor bedroom addition that creates complete single-level living.

This phased approach allows families to invest strategically over time rather than reacting to emergencies. Each phase builds on the previous work, and because we maintain detailed records of every home we modify, our crews arrive for each subsequent project already knowing the home’s construction, its layout, and its history.

For Cherry Hill residents who do qualify for NJ MLTSS Medicaid, we maximize those benefits. The a lifetime benefit covers substantial work — a ramp, a bathroom conversion, grab bars throughout the home, and doorway widenings can often be completed within or near that budget. We handle every piece of Medicaid paperwork so your family never interacts with the managed care bureaucracy directly.

One Contractor for Every Modification a Cherry Hill Home Needs

Accessible Solutions provides every aging-in-place service Cherry Hill families require from a single licensed contractor. Modular ramp installations and rentals starting at $300 per month. Bathtub-to-shower conversions and barrier-free roll-in showers. Tub cuts that lower existing bathtub entry thresholds. Grab bars and safety handrails in bathrooms, hallways, bedrooms, and stairways. Stairlifts for straight, curved, and multi-landing staircases. Vertical platform lifts for exterior elevation changes. Door widenings to 36-inch ADA clearance. First-floor bedroom and bathroom additions built to code. Durable medical equipment including hospital beds, wheelchairs, and power scooters.

We hold a New Jersey contractor’s license. We pull permits, manage inspections, and handle structural work that goes far beyond product installation. When a Cherry Hill family needs their home transformed for safe, independent living, we are the single phone call that makes it happen.