Coeur d'Alene-based Beehive of North Idaho Inc., which owns and operates Bee Hive Homes assisted-living centers in Coeur d'Alene and Pinehurst, Idaho, says it plans to develop a large senior-living complex in the Wandermere area north of Spokane.

Gary Ghramm, Beehive of North Idaho's president, says the development is in the early planning stages, with its size yet to be determined, but that the company hopes to begin marketing it this summer or fall.

"We have 64 units on 1.3 acres in Coeur d'Alene," he says. "We have 13 acres at Wandermere, so we could have hundreds of units there."

The project, tentatively called Bee Hive at Wandermere, could be several times larger than Beehive's North Idaho developments, which have 96 units and 90 employees combined, Ghramm says.

"The cost is up in the air, but this is a good time to build," he says.

The company would develop the complex on 13 acres of land located about a quarter-mile south of Hatch Road and bordered by U.S. 395 on its west side and Wandermere Road on its east side, next to the Gleneden neighborhood, he says.

Ghramm says Beehive likely would act as its own contactor on the Wandermere project. The company hasn't selected an architect yet.

He says Beehive is looking for funding sources, including private investors.

"Before (the recession), it was a cinch to get a bank loan," Ghramm says. "Now, banks aren't financing much of anything."

The project likely would be developed in phases, starting with independent-living condominiums, followed by an assisted-living facility that would provide several levels of assistance and care, including skilled-nursing care, he says.

Ghramm says demand for assisted-living units had slowed during the recession, but is starting to pick up.

"People have gotten used to the crunch," he says.

Beehive of North Idaho is a franchise of a chain of assisted-living centers. The franchiser, Bee Hive Homes Intermountain Inc., of Boise, has 128 operations in 12 states, its Web site says.