Environments for Aging - Winter 2022 - 25

The opening of Madrona Grove
and Schroeder Lofts signals
the completion of a 10-year
transformation of Rose Villa's
Portland, Ore., campus
by Joann Plockova
N 2010, LEADERS of Rose Villa Senior Living started working on a
master plan to reinvent their long-outdated and financially burdened
1960s campus in Portland, Ore. A key objective in that effort
was to address an existing 24-hour nursing care facility that
was, in CEO Vassar Byrd's words, " terrible. " " Physically, the building-an
old U-shaped nursing home-was falling apart, " she says.
A decision was made to replace the building and, further, to " reconfigure
and reimagine what it's like to live in 24-hour care, " Byrd says.
However, the project had to be put on hold until two other phases of
the resulting campus redevelopment were completed, including loft
apartments and pocket neighborhood cottages in Phase 1 (completed
in 2016) and Phase 2's four new independent living neighborhoods
totaling 42 new residences (completed in 2019). Those projects allowed
Rose Villa to build enough financial strength through new residents
and new revenue to afford the skilled nursing replacement, says Byrd.
" The nursing home part is very expensive to build. And [in] our model,
there are no entrance fees for new residents moving into the clinical
services area to offset the cost, " she says.
By 2018, design planning for Phase 3 began, with construction kicking
off in 2020. Two years later, the new Madrona Grove opened in
June, bringing a four-story community with long-term intermediate
care on the first floor and a 32-unit residential care facility on the second
floor. Built together with Schroeder Lofts, a five-story independent
living community with 35 units (completed three months later),
the project marks the culmination of the 10-year redevelopment of
Rose Villa.
Each resident floor at Madrona
Grove houses a sunroom with
views of the courtyard. Design
materials and accents support
the skilled nursing community's
modern farmhouse style.
Two in one
As part of the goal to extend the campus' main hub, Madrona Grove
and Schroeder Lofts were built on an existing site-on the main road
in front of the campus and another main access road. The location
was selected to allow the new Madrona Grove building to be " front
and center. " " We saw it as a real statement about Rose Villa and what
they're doing-a calling card, " says Sid Scott, principal at Scott Edward
Architecture (Portland, Ore.), which served as architects for
the project.
In alignment with Rose Villa's overall design concept as a town
with a diversity of buildings instead of one homogenous style, distinct
identities were created for both buildings. Madrona Grove's modern
farmhouse design, inspired by a farmhouse image Byrd shared with
the project team, supports the goal to design a space that " looks, feels,
and operates like a residential home, not an institution, " Byrd says.
winter 2022 | 25
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Environments for Aging - Winter 2022

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