Senior Living Projects Follow Trends

By Debra Wood

Older adults are becoming more discriminating about the type of communities where they will live.

An aging population has stoked demand for senior-living communities. Every level of care - from independent living through nursing homes to continuing care retirement communities - has experienced growth.

And, projects have packed in more amenities and switched focus to more resident-centered services.

Continuing care retirement communities offer apartments, villas or homes where people can live independently; assisted-living services; and a skilled nursing facility. Residents purchasing in the communities can move from one level of care to another as their needs change. The developments also offer a wide array of amenities.

Shell Point Retirement CCRC

At Shell Point Retirement Community, a nonprofit ministry of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Foundation in Fort Myers, Fla., residents can golf in the morning and play tennis or swim in one of three heated pools in the afternoon. They can moor their boat at the community's marina.

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Shell Point, with about 2,000 residents, is one of the largest CCRCs in Florida and the United States. Wright Construction Corp. of Fort Myers has been building on the campus for nearly 20 years, finishing 344 independent-living units during the past five years.

Meanwhile, Compass Construction of Fort Myers is building a 110-unit independent-living complex, called Eagles Preserve, at Shell Point. The 10 three- and four-story structures, above one-level of parking, should be complete this year.

More units are under construction or planned. In fact, Shell Point projects its population will double to nearly 4,000 people within the next 10 years. The community recently purchased an additional 500 acres along the 2-mi. entry road to the development for future expansion.

"We're trying to get into position for all the retiring Baby Boomers that are coming in future years," said Bob Southern, director of project development. "Also since this is along the entrance to our community, we wanted as much control as possible over what happens out there so the entrance to the community maintains the integrity that we built into the rest of it."

Wright recently completed The Arbor, a $28.6 million, 225,000-sq.-ft. facility that is Shell Point's second assisted-living facility. The project was built on the last parcel of land in the original 77-acre development. Staff at this level of care helps residents with bathing and shopping and other personal needs.

"Our community as a whole is growing and along with it the need for additional assisted living," Southern said. "The [Shell Point] population is aging a bit, so there is more frailty and need for services like that."

The location posed some challenges for Wright. The site was surrounded by an existing residential structure on one side and wetlands on the other three sides. It had only one road in and out.

"Our superintendent stockpiled materials at the Shell Point energy plant, a remote site, and the material was closely scheduled," said Dick Newsome, project manager with Wright. He added that construction workers parked at the energy plant and walked or were bused to the job.

Each unit in the four-story, post-tensioned concrete structure contains a kitchenette and screened lanais. But residents need not cook. The Arbor contains a main dining room and country kitchens on each floor, where residents can select snacks during the day.

The Arbor sits on 36-ft.-deep floatation stone columns, selected as a foundation due to the site's soil conditions. Crews used 36-in.-diameter augers to drill the columns, removing dirt until they reached the lime rock below.

"Then they start dropping rock in the hole and replacing the soil with rock," Newsome said. "When the auger is at the top, you have a stone column that is 36 in. in diameter."

Wright completed the project in two phases, at Shell Point's request. The company developed three different scheduling scenarios and outlined the amount of cash required for each before starting the job.

"It was partially financially driven," Newsome said. "Residents taking occupancy in this building would be vacating independent-living units throughout Shell Point, and the owner did not want to have the entire building filled at one time because it would create a glut in independent living. The sales department wouldn't be able to keep up, and it would create cash-flow issues."

Shell Point purchased materials to take advantage of its nonprofit tax-exempt status, saving $350,000.

Phase one consists of two four-story living-unit wings, with 82 units, atop a single-level parking structure, wrapped in a U-shape around a two-story central commons building that contains a kitchen, dining room and activity rooms.

Phase two includes another wing of 50 living units and a full-service medical center. Floor plans include studio, one- and two-bedroom units.

Stucco over masonry block, with a brick wainscot at the parking garage level, makes up the exterior. Original plans called for a 48-ft.-deep Ferno therapy pool, with underwater treadmills and therapy jets, but the pool was eliminated during value engineering. Toward the end of phase one, Shell Point decided it wanted the pool. Wright construction donated it and completed the pool installation in November.

"They have been good for this company, and we have received a lot of benefit from the relationship with Shell Point," said Fred Edman, president of Wright. "They have had a big push for health-care upgrades and a campaign to raise funds for expansions and improvements. The timing was right for us to kick in our piece."

The company also has developed an internal quality-control program at Shell Point, which significantly decreased the number of punch-list items.

"It's a good building and a good project," Southern said.

Huntersville Oaks

Older adults requiring more intense, skilled-nursing care and their loved ones also are seeking a different environment than in days past. CCRCs pioneered more homelike settings, and they are now catching on for stand-alone nursing homes, said Bev Cowdrick, administrator of Huntersville Oaks, in Huntersville, N.C.

"The market wanted a residential quality of life," Cowdrick said. "People realized they didn't need to be in an institution and give up their privacy."

Myers & Chapman of Charlotte broke ground in June on the $24 million Huntersville Oaks replacement facility for Carolinas HealthCare System of Charlotte. The 168-bed nursing home is organized into multiple households, each with its own kitchen, with residential-size appliances; a cyber cafe; and living and dining rooms.

Chefs in a main kitchen will prepare major meals, which will be served from the household kitchens.

The new 112,000-sq.-ft., one-story building with four "neighborhoods," each containing three households, sits on a concrete slab-on-grade foundation, with a central core in the middle.

Crews excavated some poor-quality, sandy soil and backfilled with new dirt before pouring the concrete, said Gaius Carter, project manager for Myers & Chapman. The residential wings have light-gauge metal frame construction with metal trusses. The exterior will consist of brick and Hardiplank siding. Each neighborhood will have an outside courtyard with a pergola and gardens.

"It looks like a large residence," said Carter, adding that the homey environment continues on the inside, with 17 different carpet styles, 14 wall coverings and six paint colors, crown molding and wood trim.

"The challenge has been to get our code-enforcing agencies to understand what we are trying to accomplish by making it more of a residential feel," said Bryan Goss, project manager for Carolinas HealthCare.

He used the requirement for handrails as an example. Rather than running a railing down the wall, as might be the case in an institutional setting, Huntington Oaks will bolt some of the furniture to the floor and attach a handrail to it.

The central core follows more traditional commercial construction, with metal framing, structural-steel roof trusses and a brick exterior.

Once the new structure is complete in May, the original 1927 nursing home will be demolished and the space used to developed into a research and training facility.

Useful sources:

Shell Point Retirement Community
http://www.shellpoint.org