Senior living starts with the walk from the bedroom to the dining room. Corridor length, door width, floor surface and handrail height decide whether a resident can still make that walk at eighty-five, and they cost almost nothing to get right on paper. We build senior living with that walk in mind, and we bring the same attention to the rest of the building.
Casper is Wyoming's second-most populous city, with 59,038 residents in the 2020 census, and its hospital is a 249-bed Level II trauma center that Banner Health affiliated with in October 2020. Those two facts shape senior housing in the county: a regional population that draws on one city for health care, and a medical campus that families expect to be close. We do not forecast the senior market. We build the building for the operator who has studied it.
Our senior living work covers independent living apartments, assisted living, memory care and the common spaces that connect them. Each level of care has its own code occupancy and its own operating model. An operator who plans to start with independent living and add assisted living later should think about that on day one. Related experience comes from our healthcare construction and from apartment construction.
Independent living is closest to an apartment building. Residents have kitchens, bathrooms and private entries, and the building offers dining, activity rooms and transportation. It is built like multifamily, with added accessibility and common areas. Assisted living adds care services, so rooms are smaller, corridors are wider and the building needs staff stations, medication rooms and emergency call systems.
Memory care adds secured doors, wandering protection, sensory design and courtyards with controlled access. Every level needs a commercial kitchen or serving kitchen, laundry, a generator for life safety systems and a sprinkler system throughout. The operator's program determines which of these the building needs, and we ask for it in writing before we price. A few rooms may need the hospital-grade systems that the rest of the building does not.
Residents are more sensitive to heat, cold, falls, fire and infection than the general public. Fire protection is the core issue: sprinklers, smoke compartments, alarm systems and exit design all take extra attention. The building must also hold up during a power outage, which is where the generator, emergency lighting and heating come in.
Casper adds the winter. The city lists climate zone 6B, a 3,000 air freezing index and severe weathering, which means a resident who steps outside in February faces ice and cold. We design entries with vestibules, canopies and walkways that can be cleared, and we place the heated paths where residents are likely to walk. A fall on a bad walkway is a safety failure, not a maintenance problem. On sites near a medical campus, compare how the Wyoming Medical Center campus handles the same issue.
Senior buildings succeed on comfort. We plan for even temperatures, good daylight, quiet mechanical systems and acoustic separation between rooms. Heating and cooling that is simple to operate and maintain matters, because the operator's staff will live with it. We prefer proven equipment from suppliers who service Wyoming, and we avoid novel systems that no one in Casper can repair.
Finishes are practical. Flooring that is easy on joints and easy to clean, wall protection in corridors, lever hardware and non-glare lighting help residents and staff. We build mockup rooms when the operator agrees, so staff and families can see the layout before it is repeated down the hall. Changes are cheap in a mockup and costly in a finished wing.
A senior living building is permitted as a commercial building. The City of Casper often requires a life-safety plan, engineered building and site plan drawings and Planning/Zoning approval, and plan review covers structural calculations, engineering reports and specifications. The life-safety plan defines the occupancy, which depends on the level of care. The city lists the 2024 International Codes, and the state adopted its own 2024 family on June 28, 2024.
Care facilities also answer to licensing rules that the operator handles with the state. We coordinate with the operator's consultant so the building we deliver matches what the licensing review expects. A permit lasts 180 days once issued, so financing and licensing timelines should line up with the permit date. We help the owner see that sequence in one schedule.
Many operators open a senior building in phases, with the first wing filling while the next one finishes. That affects construction. Occupied residents need quiet hours, safe routes, clean air and uninterrupted services while we build next door. We plan the work with the operator, separate the zones and protect the entries.
Long-lead items include elevators, generators, nurse call systems, kitchen equipment and life safety panels. We order them early and track delivery. The state licensing walkthrough and the fire inspection come at the end, and they need a clean, working building. We reserve time in the schedule for those inspections and for staff training. Owners such as healthcare systems that add senior housing to a campus find the phasing familiar.
Tell us the levels of care, the unit count and the site. We will size the building, flag the code issues and lay out a schedule to open on your date.
Independent living resembles an apartment building with added common areas and accessibility. Assisted living adds care services, so it needs staff stations, medication rooms, emergency call and stricter life-safety design. The occupancy classification and code requirements differ. We ask the operator for the care model before we price.
With secured entries, wandering protection, a simple layout, clear sightlines for staff and a courtyard that residents can use safely. Colors, lighting and noise are managed to reduce stress. The details are different from other senior areas, and we work with the operator's program in hand.
Yes. The city's criteria list climate zone 6B, severe weathering, a 3,000 air freezing index and a 3 foot frost line. We design heated vestibules, covered drop-offs and walkways that clear easily, and we consider ice at every door a resident might use. Exterior finishes are chosen to withstand freeze-thaw.
Yes, and it often makes sense. The first phase includes the site, the common spaces and the first wing, and later phases add rooms as demand grows. Utilities and structure should be sized for later phases. We plan the phasing with the operator so future construction does not disrupt residents.
That is a market decision, but proximity helps families and operators. Wyoming Medical Center is a 249-bed Level II trauma center in Casper, and the surrounding campus draws medical offices. Sites in Mills or Evansville may offer lower land cost with a short drive. We price each parcel with its own site work.