Spokane-based Kop Construction Inc. recently began work under on a $3.6 million contract to construct a large addition and six free-standing duplexes at a Leavenworth, Wash., assisted-living facility, and to remodel common areas there.

John Wheeler, board president for Mountain Meadows Assisted Living, a nonprofit senior care center located at 320 Park in the central Washington town, says Kop will be adding 24,000 square feet of floor space to the facility, including the free-standing units.

The addition will include 24 assisted-living apartments, 13 of which will be one-bed units and the remaining 11 of which will be double-occupancy memory-care units. Each of the duplex units will be designed for either single or double occupancy, Wheeler says.

Mountain Meadows currently has 28 beds, and the project will more than double that number to 69 beds in all, he says.

The remodeling work will encompass common areas such as the facility's kitchen, entryway, and other shared spaces, Wheeler says. He adds that the private rooms are updated on a regular basis as residents move in and out of them.

The facility was constructed in the mid-1990s, and the areas being remodeled haven't undergone major upgrades since being built, he says.

Wheeler says the project is being funded by a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-backed loan, in part with funds raised in the community, and also money generated by resident fees.

Construction is scheduled to be completed by next spring, he says.

The architect for the project is Puyallup, Wash.-based Ross Deckman & Associates Inc., Wheeler says.

He adds that Mountain Meadows is the only assisted-living facility in the upper Columbia Valley that accepts Medicaid patients. It employs about 15 people and has a governing board of 12 members, including Wheeler.