Rockwood Retirement Communities, of Spokane, has gathered ideas and comments from a multitude of sources as it draws up plans for a major expansion and renovation at its Rockwood South Hill Campus.

Those sources include current residents, prospective residents, and a handful of nationally experienced consultants who helped identify market and design trends for Rockwood South Hill's proposed $90 million expansion and renovation, says Alan Curryer, president and CEO of Rockwood Retirement Communities.

"Our goals for this campus are to improve the existing building and capitalize on the age wave and serve more seniors," Curryer says.

To serve more seniors, Rockwood Retirement Communities, a nonprofit owned by Spokane United Methodist Homes, proposes to add a 10-story, 93-unit apartment tower, called The Summit. That tower is to be located just west of The Ridge, Rockwood's original seven-story, 105-unit tower—formerly known as Rockwood Manor, at 2903 E. 25th—that was built in 1960. Rockwood also proposes to renovate The Ridge as part of the project and construct an indoor plaza, with shared amenities, that is to connect the two buildings.

Rockwood South Hill has 170 full-time-equivalent employees and would hire about 15 more following the expansion and renovation, Curryer says.

Curryer, who has been with Rockwood Retirement Communities for 19 years, says Rockwood's big plans start with its 20-member strategic planning committee. The committee, which includes Rockwood's board, some of its staff, and four or five residents, revisits Rockwood's three-year strategic plan every year.

"A number of years ago, we identified the need to update this building," he says of The Ridge.

To make desired amenities feasible, Rockwood South Hill needed more residents—via a major expansion—to cover added expenses, Curryer says.

Starting about three years ago, Rockwood hired a series of consultants to advise it on whether and how to go about a major expansion and renovation. One consultant was Integrated Energy Services Inc., of Portland, Ore., an engineering firm that determined The Ridge is more than sturdy enough to justify a sizable investment in improvements.

"Once they determined it had solid bones, we went from there," Curryer says. "Fairly early on, we assembled a development team."

Spectrum Marketing Inc., of Gastonia, N.C., conducted a marketing study, and Perkins Eastman Architects PC, a New York-based design firm with widespread experience in senior housing projects, and Spokane-based NAC/Architecture Inc. came up with the concept of building the second tower and still are working on the design.

Spectrum Marketing assembled focus groups that included residents and other Spokane-area seniors to identify the current and future wants and needs of Rockwood residents.

"There is no substitute for talking to people and asking face-to-face what they want," Curryer says.

In response to comments from focus groups and other market research, Rockwood plans to build larger apartments in The Summit and dining venues that are to be shared by residents of both structures and also update its wellness center.

Apartment units in the planned tower are to range from 900 to 2,300 square feet. Units in The Ridge, by comparison, range from 300 to 1,400 square feet.

The 90-acre Rockwood South Hill campus also has 165 duplexes and single-family homes with floor plans ranging in size from 1,200 square feet to 4,400 square feet.

The wellness center will include a fitness room, an aerobics area, and a swimming pool.

"It will be a lot like a health club," Curryer says. "Residents are embracing wellness and fitness and have high expectations of services and equipment to do that."

Instead of a large main dining room, the plans call for two smaller informal dining rooms, a bistro area, and an after-hours bistro lounge in the plaza area. The Summit is to have a rooftop lounge, an invitation used in the planning process says.

Rockwood South Hill has selected Walker Construction Inc., of Spokane, as the contractor on the project.

The project calls for renovation of The Ridge building exterior to give it the same appearance as that of the planned Summit building, Curryer says.

"They will look like they were built at the same time," he says.

The renovation at The Ridge will include a new fire-sprinkler system and a new heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system, Curryer says.

New outside features will include a meditation garden, a water feature, and walking paths.

Rockwood still is exploring financing options, which are especially limited in today's economy, Curryer says.

"We're in the same boat as everybody else," he says. "Once financing is available, we'll start preselling, and might start construction in late 2010. Now, we're making sure we're on the mark with our design, and we have support from the community."

The first residents of the Summit would move in about two years after construction starts, he says.

Rockwood hasn't yet developed a fee and rent schedule for the new units.

Current prices for apartments at The Ridge start at $66,000, plus monthly fees starting at $1,646. House and duplex prices on the South Hill campus start at $295,000, plus monthly fees starting at $918. Depending on the purchase contract, up to 80 percent of the buy-in fee is refundable to a resident's estate, says Becky Moonitz, Rockwood's communications manager.

Curryer says the Rockwood South Hill campus is more than 90 percent occupied, a rate that has remained steady despite the recession.

He says The Ridge has a waiting list of about 100 people, some of whom want particular units or aren't ready to move in yet.

The average age of incoming apartment residents is 82, Curryer says, adding he expects that average to drop to the mid- to late 70s following completion of the Summit and other planned improvements.

People who've attended informational meetings about the planned expansion and renovation typically have ranged in age from 65 to 85, he says.

Early in the planning process, some residents asked how Rockwood expected to address green design and sustainability concepts to reduce negative impacts of the project on the environment and the building's occupants.

"We developed a green team that gave initial input into design," Curryer says.

Rockwood plans to seek a "gold" designation for its construction project, which is the second highest of four levels in the widely accepted Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design green-building rating system.

Rockwood Retirement Communities also operates Rockwood at Hawthorne, an 85-unit retirement campus at 101 E. Hawthorne, just north of the Spokane city limits.