Unity Health System | The Villages at Unity
The project consisted of a new 40,000 SF, two-story, wood-framed assisted-living facility; a 10,000 SF, wood-framed Community Center; and renovations of the existing 20,000 SF assisted living center for memory care.
The sitework presented several challenges related to relocating the utilities while maintaining services to the existing campus. This work was accomplished with only minor interruptions to the residents and staff. The soil-bearing report identified poor soil conditions, requiring undercuts and structural fill to a depth of 10 feet for the new buildings. As part of the overall campus upgrades, sidewalks were added around the entire campus to serve as a safe walking loop for the residents.
The new assisted-living facility consisted of 11 studio apartments, 27 one-bedroom apartments and two luxury one-bedroom suites. Each apartment was equipped with a kitchenette with a microwave, nurse server, walk-in closet and ADA-accessible roll-in shower. HVAC was provided by a boiler and cooling tower that supported individual heat pumps for each apartment. The common areas and commercial kitchen had separate air handlers for heating and cooling comfort. In addition, a wet fire protection system on the first and second floors and a dry system in the attic were installed. The facility had a full commercial kitchen, which included a walk-in cooler and freezer.
The one-story Community Center connected the east and west campus buildings by an interior corridor and became a focal point to tie the two communities together. The Community Center has a large activity room, offices and a bistro for lunch, dinner or parties.
Twenty existing assisted-living apartments were converted into memory care with updated finishes throughout. The existing mechanicals were upgraded to high-efficiency equipment and the dry fire protection system was upgraded, as well. All the emergency exit doors are now monitored via alarms to notify the staff if a resident attempted to leave without proper permissions.
