The EFA Conference + Expo community tours offer a chance to highlight some of the latest design ideas and community strategies at work in the host city. This year’s event in Milwaukee includes three tours from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday, April 2.
Owned and operated by Saint John’s Communities Inc. and founded in 1868 by women of the Episcopal Church, Saint John’s on the Lake is a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) nestled on the bluffs of Lake Michigan. In 2020, the CCRC completed a multiyear renovation of its North Tower. Here, Ronald B. Blitch, president of Blitch Knevel Architects LLC (New Orleans), which handled the concept design, highlights some of the takeaways attendees can expect on the T02: Saint John’s on the Lake – North Tower Project tour.
EFA: What was an original project goal from the client?
Blitch: The project’s design concept, by EUA Architects (Milwaukee) with assistance from Blitch Knevel Architects, environmental gerontologist Lorraine G. Hiatt, and project management firm VJS Construction Services (Milwaukee), was the result of a detailed and inclusive programming and planning process with the community’s leadership team and board, residents, and designers. One of the guiding principles from the board was to have this project be a “world-class project” that would advance senior living design. The North Tower project was designed to cohesively join the various elements of Saint John’s in one complex.
What’s an innovative approach here that attendees will be able to see during the tour?
The care neighborhoods on the second, third, and fourth floors offer a flexible approach to skilled nursing, assisted living, and memory care. Each floor houses 25 residents with ample common areas for dining, relaxing, and socializing. The resident rooms were tested prior to construction in a full mock-up. State code revisions to improve the bathroom layout and functionality were presented within the actual room mockup and approved by regulatory agencies as well.
What were some unique challenges on this project and how did you overcome them?
The site available for the North Tower expansion project contained a three-story skilled nursing building that was kept in operation through the first major phase of construction, which included building the 23-story tower and the first part of the care neighborhoods. After the first phase, the existing nursing building was demolished and backfilling between the North Tower and existing Central Tower was completed to add more care rooms to the new tower as well as the completion of the commons area (auditorium and meeting rooms etc.).
What’s one takeaway from the project that you want attendees to learn during the tour?
Communication between the stakeholders is critical from programming and concept design through the construction and commissioning process. Having the construction manager involved from day one was critical to the success of the project, as was the dedication of the leadership team at Saint John’s to ensure consistent delivery of a successful project.
For tour registration or more on the EFA Conference + Expo, April 2-5 in Milwaukee, visit environmentsforaging.com.
