Immanuel Lutheran projects start, stall
Immanuel Lutheran Communities got news from two funding sources on Tuesday: One will propel a major project forward and the other leaves a separate project in limbo.
Around 8:30 Tuesday morning, the Montana Board of Housing told Immanuel Lutheran that its Timber Meadows project would not receive new market tax credits needed to begin construction in west Kalispell.
Immanuel Lutheran Chief Executive Officer Jason Cronk said the $7.5 million fixed-income housing complex may have to wait for now.
“We’re going to discuss [the Timber Meadows project] at a board meeting next week to determine what the board would like to do going forward,” Cronk said last week.
Immanuel Lutheran hasn’t actually purchased the property yet, Cronk said, which will be another point at the board meeting. Cronk said Timber Meadows is not 100 percent secure as a future project.
“I would like to continue going forward but it’s up to the board,” Cronk said. “With this current project up here [at Buffalo Hill], this is our priority to update this campus and reposition it.”
About 11 hours after Immanuel Lutheran was denied the new market tax credits, the Kalispell City Council approved $35 million in revenue bonds to be issued to Immanuel Lutheran for the first phase of its Buffalo Hill renovation.
The five-phase project has an estimated cost of $45 million, Cronk said, with future costs expected to be financed through additional borrowing and Immanuel Lutheran’s capital.
At Tuesday’s Kalispell City Council meeting, Immanuel Lutheran received approval for $35 million in conduit bonds from a Minneapolis bank through the city of Kalispell. The funds will be used to refinance Immanuel Lutheran’s existing debt built up from bonds received in 2010 and finance the costs of installation, rehabilitation and equipping capital improvement projects for the housing and nursing facilities on Buffalo Hill.
Phase 1 of the Buffalo Hill project is expected to begin in April when crews will renovate 32 existing rooms in the skilled care center and connect the skilled care center to the retreat, creating a new entrance. When renovations are complete, Immanuel Lutheran will have 48 new short-term care rooms. Developers will also add a new therapy gym, kitchen and dining room.
Designs also include an interior courtyard once construction is complete.
The second part of Phase 1 is expected to begin in July, Cronk said, with the addition of 24 private assisted-living memory care units connected to the existing assisted-living wing.
The project is in anticipation of the upcoming population of baby boomers set to retire. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, all baby boomers should be 65 years or older by 2030, amounting to 35 senior citizens per 100 working adults in the U.S.
“The Flathead Valley has a higher population of seniors over 65 than other parts of our state,” Cronk said. “The valley will continue to be an attraction for earlier retirees, so we’re positioning ourselves for that growing number of people.”
According to the Nielson Co., a national demographic data provider, the greater Flathead County senior citizen population currently accounts for about 18 percent of the population while seniors make up about 17 percent of Montana and 15 percent of the United States.
Immanuel Lutheran has contracted Swank Enterprises as general contractor for the project. CJMW Architecture of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and MMW Architects of Missoula have been named as architectural partners on the project.
Additional partners include Sawgrass Partners, a senior living developer and adviser based in Illinois; local engineering company Morrison-Maierle; Studio 121, an interior design firm based in Nashville, Tennessee; and Corsi Associates, a food-service consulting firm based in Pennsylvania.
Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.