News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters seniors and members of the local business community got a look at a concept for a new senior living facility at a town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 19.
A Yakima, Washington-based developer is considering creation of a senior independent assisted-living facility and community center in Sisters.
Mark Adolf, of Pinnacle Alliance Group, hosted the meeting at Sisters Fire Hall. He introduced the concept of a three-phase, 82-unit facility that would be owned by local investors and managed by a professional management team based out of Eugene.
The for-profit senior facility would be accompanied by a not-for-profit community center available to the public.
According to Adolf, building a community center in conjunction with the senior facility provides benefits for the residents and for the community and takes about $1 million off the cost of a stand-alone community center. The community center could be funded through philanthropic support.
Adolf said that the project would be built in phases, with 38 units in the first phase. Seniors will have options for 489-square-foot studio apartments; one-bedroom suites at 702 square feet; and two-bedroom, 916-square-foot suites.
Prices are estimated to start at $2,400 per month for a studio, with add-on packages for different levels of assistance.
Care levels range from independent living to assisted living with options for more intensive nursing care when needed.
"What we can allow is families to bring in skilled nursing if it gets to that acuity level," Adolf said.
Pinnacle has built such facilities across the country, in secondary and tertiary markets. Adolf said the economic impact will be significant, creating numerous construction jobs, hiring local people to staff the facility and contributing about $960,000 per year to the Sisters economy in the first phase.
"The local ownership aspect of the project is unique," Adolf said.
"I don't know any place in the country that they're doing things this way," he said.
The project is ready to roll, as soon as property is acquired.
Adolf acknowledged that he is looking closely at property in the McKenzie Meadows area, directly across McKinney Butte Road from Sisters Middle School. A senior living center has long been part of the vision of the owners of that property, Bill Willitts, Curt Kallberg and the Reed family.
Adolf said that the owners have discounted the property by $1.5 million, which would make the project feasible.
No plans have yet been submitted to the city, and the property has yet to be annexed into the City of Sisters, though voters have approved such an annexation.
For more information, contact community liaison Keith Sampson at 549-0903 or 610-6836 or via e-mail at [email protected]
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)