Nonprofit senior care provider Cheney Care Community is moving forward with plans to develop dozens of independent living duplexes expanding its campus at 2219 N. Sixth, in Cheney, says Sadie Dustin, marketing director at the nonprofit. 

As planned, 16 duplex buildings with a total of 32 residential units and garages, will be constructed directly north of the retirement campus, on Bethany Street. The new units are an addition to the retirement community's six existing Blackstone Estates duplex buildings featuring 12 units.

Spokane Valley-based Gordon Finch Homes Inc. owns the development site. Buyers will purchase homes through Cheney Care Community. Gordon Finch Homes will construct the homes and will sell the lots to Cheney Care Community, per an agreement between the two entities.

Gordon Finch Homes is currently constructing the first new duplex building at 2310 Bethany, directly east of the existing Blackstone Estates homes. The building is expected to be ready for occupancy by the end of 2026.

The planned independent living duplexes were originally slated for construction in 2019, but the expansion plans were halted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dustin explains.

“At that time, family could only visit at the window, so it was a very traumatic time for everyone,” she says. “That put a screeching halt to a lot of things.”

Now that visitation restrictions have eased, the duplex project is ready to move ahead in anticipation of increased demand over the next several years, Dustin says.

“We are ready to build whenever we’ve got buyers,” she says. “It’ll be build-as-you-go, so to speak.”

Cheney Care Community first opened in 1979 and is one of only a few continuing care retirement homes operating on the West Plains, Dustin contends. The retirement community accepts residents from Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

The 10-acre campus is comprised of a 27,000-square-foot care center; a 26,000-square-foot, 32-resident assisted living facility that opened in 1999; and Department of Housing and Urban Development-subsidized independent living units, dubbed Sessions Village, which were built in 2004, she adds.

The existing Blackstone Estates townhome units were built in 2017. 

The care center provides skilled nursing and rehabilitation programs that support individuals who need additional help or long-term medical care after leaving a hospital, or before moving into an assisted living facility, or an adult family home, Dustin says. The space is currently licensed for 54 residents.

“It's very common for people to move in on the independent side and then transition to different levels of care as needed,” she says. “It's a great benefit for seniors, because it keeps all of your care right here, where everybody's familiar with everything, and you transition together.”

Funding for the nonprofit is derived from grants available to retirement homes in addition to government subsidies that help in the development and maintenance of Sessions Village, Dustin explains.

“We have one of our employees who’s dedicated to finding free money, if you will, that can go towards activities, that can go towards environmental (updates), things like that, to keep developing the campus,” she says.

Cheney Care Community operates with 90 full-time and 25 part-time employees.

Residents living independently at Cheney Care Community have maintenance, transportation, meal plans, and other amenities provided by the nonprofit, Dustin says.

The new duplex units cost $500,000, which is 19% higher than the 12 existing Blackstone Estates duplex units, which cost $420,000, and include water, sewer, and garbage bills paid for by Cheney Care Community, she says. 

“We do all of the property maintenance, all the lawn care,” she explains. “The refrigerator breaks, we’re going to fix it, and if the roof needs replacing, we do that. It’s kind of like glorified renting, so home ownership without the hassle of maintaining it.”

Residents receive 80% of the price paid when they move out, Dustin adds.

The new duplex development on the west side of Bethany Street will have similar floor plans as the existing townhomes, which are comprised of about 1,500 square feet of residential space including two bedrooms and two bathrooms. New units under development on the east side of Bethany Street will have slightly smaller footprint and a different floor plan that’s yet to be determined, she says.

“It could be a combination of a smaller footprint with two bedrooms, two baths,” Dustin says. “I am pushing to get an option of a three-bedroom, two-bath as well for those that like an extra office space.”

The new units, combined with Cheney Care Community’s tight-knit neighborhood, are expected to appeal to new residents in and help remove any stigmas among seniors concerned about receiving continuing care in retirement.

“I don't think that people grow up and say, ‘I'm excited to move into a nursing home,’” she says. “Having all those home health (options) has been able to allow people to stay home longer and that's important for everyone's mental health, too.”