Walls are starting to rise at Rockwood Retirement Communities’ $69 million redevelopment project at its North Side location, says Eowyn Sallis, director of marketing for the organization.

Work on the 420,000-square-foot, two-phase project, located at 101 E. Hawthorne Road, began in mid-November last year with the demolition of a portion of the building.

The first phase of the project consists of 48 assisted-living units and 24 memory-support units in a three-story building, Sallis says. Work on the first phase is on track to be completed in January 2021. 

The first building will be named Palvella Glenn, which is Finnish for “to serve” or “to help,” a name that was chosen during a naming contest with residents and staff. Overall, the two-building facility is known as Rockwood at Whitworth, in honor of the retirement company’s partnership with the private university, Sallis adds.

With the partnership, Rockwood residents will receive increased access to Whitworth, which could include discounted classes and facility and event access.

Work on the second phase, a four-story 117-unit independent living facility, is set to begin after completion of the first phase and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2022, Sallis says.

Although the layout originally was designed to have 120 units, some apartment units on the fourth floor of the second building were merged to accommodate tenant demand for larger units, Sallis says.

In total, the project will have 189 living units.

The project is being handled in phases to avoid displacing tenants, with residents remaining in the existing facility while the new portion is being built, and then will be moved into the new facility upon completion, Sallis adds.

NAC Architecture, of Spokane, designed the project, which is being built by Walker Construction Inc., also of Spokane.

The project will include three dining venues, an event center for large-scale lectures and dances, an exercise facility, a movie theater, an art studio, and a salon and spa.

The independent living units are about 80% reserved, Sallis says, with potential residents paying a 10% deposit for space in the new building.