In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (4/4/2012)

Former Massachusetts Ski Area Slated for Senior Housing Development

Maryland-based firm The Shelter Group is planning a 133-unit senior living community at the base of an old North Andover ski area that hasn’t seen much use for more than 20 years, reports Boston.com.

Located at the old Boston Hill Ski Area at 1275 Turnpike St., the development will be a one-building, 143,000-square-foot facility that will have 65 independent living units, 41 assisted living units, and 27 units for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Workers have already begun clearing and grading the cite, and construction is set to begin in June and take a year to complete.

The Shelter Group will own and manage the all-rental, market-rate housing, says the article. It owns and manages 22 other senior living communities across nine states through its Brightview Senior Living division, including four others also in Massachusetts. Manchester, N.H.-based firm Pro Con is designing and building the project.

SAS Architects & Planners to Design Eldercare Residence for Ill. Senior Living Community

Providence Life Services has retained Northbrook, Ill.-based SAS Architects & Planners, a firm specializing in senior living, health care, and commercial-use projects, to design a “small house” eldercare housing project for Victorian Village, a senior living community in Homer Glen, Ill.

SAS will design three residences to be built on the property by the end of 2013: two single-story residences, each housing 10 seniors, and a third, two-story residence which can house 30 seniors. Future residents will have access to skilled nursing services and will have private bedrooms and bathrooms with shared common living, kitchen, and dining areas.

We’re proud to be among the first senior living communities in Illinois to invest in the ‘small house’ concept — which essentially is a skilled nursing home situated in a residential setting,” said Ray Hemphill, Executive Vice President – Project Development for Providence Life Services, which owns and operates Victorian Village. “Originated by a geriatrician, the ‘small house’ eldercare concept has been operating for about 10 years in other parts of the United States. Residents, family and staff all report high levels of satisfaction with the shared living arrangement.”

Victorian Village is located on an 18-acre campus with graduated-care living options ranging from 55+ town homes to independent living and assisted living.

Hawaii Nonprofit Breaks Ground on Affordable Senior Rental Housing Project

The Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation (HICDC) recently broke ground on a 60-unit affordable senior rental housing project located in Mohouli, Hawaii.

The project is a public-private collaboration between the state’s Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the County of Hawaii, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), and the HICDC.

HHFDC provided $20.5 million in state and federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits, a Rental Housing Trust Fund loan of $8.6 million, and a Rental Assistance Revolving Fund loan of $7.5 million.

Another $600,000 in funding comes from the County of Hawaii-administered HOME Investment Partnership Act, and a $4 million interim loan from the RCAC.

The project is intended for low-income seniors whose incomes are at or below 30 to 50% of the Hawaii County median income, as determined by HUD. In exchange for federal and state financing and tax credits, rents must remain affordable for 61 years.

“By providing public lands and working with the Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation, the County of Hawaii continues its collaborative efforts to provide safe, decent and affordable housing for our kupuna,” Mayor Billy Kenoi said.

Phase one of construction on Mohouli Heights Senior Neighborhood includes 11 residential buildings and a community gathering place connected with covered walkways. There are also plans to include 90 more residential units for seniors, in addition to the new Hilo Adult Day Center.

Presbyterian Homes & Services Develops New Minn. Senior Living Facility

A new senior living facility recently opened in Minnesota, developed by Presbyterian Homes & Services, whose president oversaw the project.

Harmony River is a 108-room senior care facility that was financed using a direct loan and a loan guarantee through the USDA’s Community Facilities Program, the agency wrote on its state blog. AgStar Rural Capital Network is the lender on the guaranteed portion of the loan.

Hutchinson Area Health Care will manage the new facility, which offers several upgrades from the previous senior living center, including handicap-accessible bathrooms, resident rooms that are nearly double in size, 8-foot-wide hallways, and specific units dedicated to specialized services such as memory care and rehabilitation.

More information on the USDA’s Community Facilities Program can be found here.

Del-Sano Contracting to Break Ground on $8.9 Million New Jersey Senior Living Community

Del-Sano Contracting Corporation, a general contracting, design/build and construction management services firm, recently announced it will be breaking ground on a senior living community on Esterbrook Ave. in Rahway, New Jersey.

The development, the Melvin & Margaret Myers Senior Residence, will be a HUD 202 project of Domus Housing Corp. and will be a four-story building with affordable apartment living for local qualified individuals.

It will be a 44,456-square-foot facility featuring 50 single bedroom units and one two-bedroom manager’s apartment with an estimated cost of $8.9 million. The residence is expected to be completed in April 2013.

Other aspects of the development include “green” features, such as energy efficient heating and cooling equipment and low-flow water fixtures.

Steven S. Cohen Architect, based in Princeton, N.J., is the architectural firm; David J. Brill & Associates LLC of Doylestown, Pa. is the mechanical engineer; Jefferis Engineering Associates of Runnemede, N.J. is the civil engineer; and Harrison-Hamnett, P.C. of Pennington, N.J. is the structural engineer.