Jun 16 2014
Rose Villa Senior Living, a nonprofit continuing care retirement community in Portland, will officially break ground on its 22-acre redevelopment project on June 13, 2014.
Rose Villa Redevelopment Project Rendering. (Photo: Business Wire)
The $60 million project will transform the 54 year old campus into one that reflects Rose Villa’s commitment to a higher standard of senior care.
“Two years in the making, and with an incredible outpouring of support from the entire Rose Villa community, it’s gratifying to see this project finally break ground,” said Rose Villa CEO, Vassar Bryd. “This redevelopment is not about making Rose Villa different. It’s about reimagining it to be better and truer to its original character.”
New cottage homes will make up “pocket-style” neighborhoods and accommodate approximately 90 residents. Homes will be out of street view, and gradated on the property to reveal a view toward the Willamette River. Along the street leading to Rose Villa and at the new main entrance to the community, two and three-story mixed use-style buildings will provide ground level Main Street amenities, including retail space, cafes and restaurants, a wine bar and more. In addition to serving the Rose Villa residents, most of these amenities will be open to the public. The upper levels of the mixed-use buildings will contain approximately 35 additional apartment homes. Upon completion, the community neighborhood will feel more like a hip Portland district than a traditional retirement community.
The new design of Rose Villa will also increase green space, consist of eco-friendly buildings, and capitalize on the small house movement in both urban neighborhoods and retirement communities.
The three-phase project will take place over 18 months and operate on a low-impact, high efficiency plan to ensure minimal disruption to the community’s residents. In partnership with R&H Construction, RLPS, and Mhyre Group Architects, Rose Villa has made the livability and quality of life of its residents a priority throughout the process. Driving an efficient timeline was a necessary and challenging component to the project, as construction will occur while residents are still living at Rose Villa.
“We are very much in this together,” says Byrd.
“Creating a retirement experience that emphasizes the opportunity to change the way we age – blowing up negative stereotypes of aging as weakness and frailty and recognizing older people as tough, smart, experienced people with a tremendous amount to offer is a core personal value for me,” added Byrd. “Our redevelopment will innovate the way older adults interact with, and within, their entire community. It gives me great pride to acknowledge Rose Villa as a leader in senior housing trends.”