DPR Review - Quarterly Newsletter

Casa de las Campanas: A Ringing Success

Communication and collaboration enhance community spirit at senior living facility

In the foothills of San Pasqual Valley lies Casa de las Campanas, where DPR recently completed several projects amid the more than 600 active seniors currently residing at the continuing care retirement community in San Diego, CA. The projects, which spanned 19 months, featured construction of a new 32,000-sq.-ft. special care assisted-living facility, consisting of 18 apartments (27 beds) for residents dealing with memory-related issues, and the mechanical system remodel of an existing 40,000-sq.-ft., 99-bed skilled-nursing facility and central plant to include a new 32-ton chiller.

"As is the case with projects in existing facilities, all work needed to be well planned to minimize any impact on daily operations," said Chris Hadley of DPR. "For the Casa project, however, we had to take our planning a step further and constantly remind ourselves that we were, in effect, working in someone's house, and there were 600 different 'owners' who had questions and concerns about what we were doing to their community."

To help ensure that construction did not interfere with the daily lives of the residents, the Casa team implemented later morning starts and built temporary facilities for areas that could potentially be disturbed throughout construction. DPR also set up external scaffold stairways and accessed the occupied and fully operational skilled-nursing facility through its roof during the HVAC system remodel, allowing crews to work in the attic without disturbing the nurses and residents. Materials were also stocked and brought in through the roof to help reduce construction traffic.

Having worked on five different senior living projects together over the last four years, Construction Manager Intelisyn, Inc. and DPR understood the importance of good and frequent communication to help nurture a well-informed resident base. The team, along with owner Casa de las Campanas, took extra measures to keep the residents up-to-date, punching holes in the project's barricades at both walking height and wheelchair height to allow project viewing. The Casa Cam web camera, available through the community's website, also streamed real-time footage for residents, loved ones, and project team members to view progress remotely. DPR also held weekly meetings with 20-25 resident representatives who served as a conduit for questions and answers to and from the community.