The Congress Companies is nearing the halfway mark of a $17 million, multi-phase renovation of the Bel Air Health Care Center as it recently entered the third of six phases of construction, this one involving renovations on the middle floor of the facility’s three-story tower.
Headquartered in Peabody, Mass., construction management company Congress has handled everything for the project, from construction, acquisition, and HUD financing, to the architecture, interior design, and engineering of the project, through a custom-tailored Turnkey Leaseback solution.
Upon completion, the Bel Air Health Care Center will provide a fully furnished and equipped 185-bed rehabilitation and nursing building that owner Milwaukee Health Care Properties I LLC will lease to the nursing home operator.
Brommer Architects designed the renovations, which were financed through a HUD 232 Loan from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
“Our HUD experience and strategic ability to coordinate with Bel Air to allow them to maintain full systems and nursing operations are just some of the ways in which we were able to accommodate our client’s needs,” noted Peter Nicholson, Project Manager for Congress Building Corp. “We were also able to expedite and coordinate a fast-track schedule and bring our intuitive, experienced, and dedicated construction management to the table, with a successful result for the client.”
Phase One of the project was completed in April 2011, and included converting the building’s east wing into 24 private rooms, and renovating the lower level of the facility’s three-story tower into 16 new double patient rooms, a new lobby area, and a kitchen and laundry facilities upgrade.
The second phase was completed at the beginning of September 2011, which included creating 26 additional private patient rooms in the building’s west wing.
The third phase, which involves renovations beginning on one half of the middle floor of the three-story facility tower, is expected to be completed by early November, with the fourth, fifth and sixth phases slated to be completed in two month intervals.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
