4/8/2010 11:39:00 PM Construction resumes on senior community
Matt Hinshaw/The Daily Courier A construction crew with Gold Creek Construction digs trenches for the plumbing at the new Highgate Senior Living Community at the intersection of Petroglyph Point and Blooming Hills drives in Prescott in late March.
A new senior living community in Prescott is back online after a year-long delay. Construction is under way again at the Highgate Senior Living community at the corner of Petroglyph Point and Blooming Hills drives. The Washington state-based senior living chain sent plans for a two-story building to the city in late January 2008 and originally got a permit to begin construction the following January. But work came to a halt over the placement of the Alzheimer's wing. Dan Srinden, vice president of construction for the company, said the city told them that they must move the wing, halting construction in April 2009. "So we had to completely redesign the building around that," he said. "We had originally designed the building with our Alzheimer's wing on the second floor, and we had to relocate it to the first floor. And just to make it all pencil out right, we went back to the Prescott Lakes Homeowners Association and requested a variance to do three stories to make this worth our while to continue on, which we were able to do. "We gained the third floor to offset all these costs of relocating." Pluimer said it was during a chat with the owner and contractor about the use of the building while a crew was pouring the footings when things came to a grinding halt. Arizona Health Department code states that Alzheimer's wings must be on the first floor to help ensure their safe exit if an emergency hits, according to Pluimer. "And that's when it was determined that Alzheimer's (patients) were going to be put on the second floor and we threw up the red flag and started talking," he said. "Originally on the plans it did not stipulate the types of patients they were going to put in there." Pluimer said Highgate got a revised permit in mid-March to resume construction with a third floor. "They're 100 percent in compliance at this point," he said. Construction is back online, and Strinden anticipates construction to finish around this time next year. The community will also offer assisted living and independent living space on the upper floors of the 78,000-square-foot building. "We just want everybody to know we're back in business," he said. Ann Conley, executive director of the community, said it means 45 to 60 full- and part-time jobs ranging from nurses and caregivers to cooks and activity coordinators for nearly 100 residents. For more information, visit www.high gateseniorliving.com.
