Project general manager Paric, based in St. Louis, andEnvironmental Operations Inc. will complete the $3 milliondemolition of the old hospital that sits on 17 acres. The newcomplex will include 243 independent living homes, 30 assistedliving apartment homes, 15 memory support apartments and a healthcenter that includes 34 private and four semi-private skillednursing rooms. Construction should start in May, with initialmove-ins beginning in September 2011.

It's been difficult to get construction financing for newprojects, says Todd Goodrich, a Paric VP. He tells GlobeSt.com thatAshfield was able to tackle the project with 100% bond financing,though requirements were more stringent. "They had an aggressivepre-lease requirement of 85% of units, which they were able tomeet," he says.

Though Goodrich says Paric hasn't seen much downturn in volume,he says more owners are going with renovations and repositioning ofexisting facilities because it's so difficult to get newconstruction loans to close. The senior housing market is also justlike every other commercial venture today, a casualty of thehousing market, he says. "People normally have to sell their homesfirst before they can buy into a senior living community," Goodrichsays.