Life Care Centers of America, a large Cleveland, Tenn.-based operator of retirement and senior-care centers, plans to develop a two-building complex on a vacant 20-acre site in Post Falls, says an architect involved with the project.


The complex is to include 153 independent-living units, 104 assisted-living units, and 70 skilled-nursing patient rooms, says Jeff Shera, a principal with Lantz-Boggio Architects PC, of Englewood, Colo., which is designing the project. The estimated cost of the project wasnt disclosed.


The city of Post Falls is reviewing Life Care Centers proposed site plan for the project, which would be located just north of Interstate 90, between a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. store and the Coeur dAlene RV Resort, Shera says. He says Life Care Centers hopes to begin constructing the facility soon and estimates the project would take about two years to complete.


Mary Beth Cole, of the Post Falls building and planning department, says Life Care has indicated it will provide the city with building plans, which will be discussed along with the preliminary site plans in a meeting scheduled next week between representatives of that company and the city.


Questions for this story directed to Life Care were forwarded to the companys owner, Forrest Preston, who was unavailable for comment.


Life Care traditionally uses its own general contractor for such projects, but hires local subcontractors to do much of the work, Shera says.


He says the 62,000-square-foot, one-story skilled-nursing facility, along with the 70 patient rooms, would include administrative space, a kitchen, library, beauty shop, and additional spaces for family and patient activities. It would be built first, and should take less than 14 months to complete, he says.


The other building, at about 265,000 square feet of floor space, would include two three-story towers connected by a one-story section that would have kitchen and service space in it. The independent-living units would be located in one of the towers, and the assisted-living units in the other.


Shera says construction on that building likely would begin before the skilled nursing building is completed, and would take about a year to complete. He declines to estimate how many people the overall complex would employ.


Life Care uses prototypes for the basic design of its buildings, but has hired Lantz-Boggio to ensure that the structure complies with local building codes and to modify the exterior so it blends well with its Post Falls setting, Shera says.


Life Care, launched in 1970, operates more than 260 facilities in 28 states, providing a range of services that also include housing for Alzheimers patients, respite care, hospice care, adult day care, and rehabilitation.


The engineer for the project is Frame & Smetana PA, of Coeur dAlene.