St. Ann Catholic Parish-Spokane is partnering with an independent nonprofit assisted-living provider to convert and update a 7,000-square-foot former convent building on its east central Spokane campus to an assisted-living and memory care center for adults.

Rompa, the Spokane-based assisted-living provider, will provide care to residents of the facility, dubbed Rompa House, which previously operated as a Franciscan convent for nearly 50 years.

Rompa's directors are Virginia Gitau, and her adult children Sylvie Marie, Daniel Gitau, and Lucia Ngatia and her daughter Irine Ngatia, says St. Ann parishioner Tresa Schmautz, who's helping coordinate the renovation project with her husband, Steve Schmautz, broker and owner of Spokane-based SDS Realty Inc.

Some of Rompa's directors are also parishioners of St. Ann's, who have previous caregiving experience and own other assisted-living facilities in Spokane, she says.

The new facility will be located at 2116 E. First, west of St. Ann's church.

Andy Lang, parish council chair at St. Ann, says the building hasn't been updated in about 40 years, beyond a few paint projects and installing internet access.

Tenant improvements include the installation of a new fire suppression system and energy-efficient windows, updating bathrooms, hallways, and doorways to meet Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, community kitchen updates, air conditioning and climate-control systems for each unit, a 400-square-foot secured outdoor space, and landscaping improvements.

Renovations to the facility likely will be completed by June, says Lang.

SDS Construction Management LLC is the contractor for the project, and Indigo Diggs LLC, of Spokane, is the architect.

Renovation costs have doubled to about $500,000 throughout the development process as the project has grown to accommodate memory care services, Schmautz says.

"When (Rompa) decided to include memory care ... the Department of Social and Health Services requirements became far more expensive," she says.

Lang concurs and notes that the higher renovation costs reflect that the entire building needs to meet a higher level of safety and security for future memory care residents. 

Church leaders agree that Rompa and St. Ann's will benefit by serving a greater number of people who are eligible to reside at the property.

"(Rompa) will have a larger client opportunity because we have limited memory care options in Spokane," says Lang. "We're going to make some profit from the rent, but instead of that (building) being an anchor around our neck, it becomes an anchor to our programs. We can look to the future of how much larger a program could be because we can afford to pump funds back into it."

Irine Ngatia, health care provider and Rompa co-director, says the building can accommodate up to 16 residents, and the organization will hire up to 10 employees, depending on the number or residents and their level of care needs.

In a newsletter to parishioners in May, St. Ann's announced that it will save about $10,000 annually on the maintenance of the property once the facility opens. 

Additionally, in the first 12 months of operation, Rompa House is expected to generate about $4,000 in monthly income, plus annual increases for a five-year lease term.

Rompa has agreed to reimburse St. Ann for its portion of the building improvements in addition to shared expenses for the project, including the cost of new windows, fire alarms, air conditioning, and electrical updates. The facility is expected to generate at least $60,000 annually, according to the newsletter.

Lang says the building's new use as an assisted-living center will help the church expand its community assistance programs.

Some of St. Ann's programs include offering free Sunday lunch for the last 40 years and providing financial assistance for community members in need of help with utility bills, says Schmautz. 

Additionally, last summer, St. Ann's started a paid, dignified work program in partnership with Career Path Services that helped 65 people a week by the end of the summer.

Church leaders agree that an office building wasn't what they envisioned for the future of the property, which was named after an influential St. Ann priest, the Rev. John Rompa.

The Rev. Patrick Baraza says the building's new use as an assisted-living facility aligns with St. Ann's mission of caring for those who are vulnerable.

"We looked at initially working it into viable office space, but it seems like there's plenty of office space to be had around Spokane," says Lang. "The office space possibility felt like it would just be a cash generator, but that's not what we're here to do. It's to take care of people."

Schmautz agrees and says parishioners weren't excited about continuing its use as an office building, as it would veer away from the campus's history of social justice work and from its roots as a sanctuary church in the 1980s.

"When all the nuns retired and moved out, Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners rented the entire building, which fit the mission of our church," says Lang. "After they moved out, we took possession of the lower floor for our parish offices, and we rented the upper floor to the East Central C.O.P.S. substation."

The 99-year old building has been vacant following the departure of the Community Oriented Policing Services program and the relocation of parish offices in 2022. 

"(The assisted-living center) beats having one ... empty building that we're still paying to keep the heat and utilities going," says Lang. "For 50 years, this was a building where people lived and thrived, and it can be that again."