Work begins on senior housing project

Construction of a four-story, 40-unit senior housing center adjacent to the 147-unit Sierra Manor subsidized housing center at Paradise Drive in northeast Reno will go a long way to easing lengthy wait times at Sierra Manor.

Sandy Isham, development and community relations officer for Volunteers of America, which owns and operates Sierra Manor, says the waiting list for a room at the facility typically runs 100 deep. Seniors 62 and older many of who have annual incomes less than $10,000 can rent a room at Sierra Manor for as little as a few hundred dollars a month, Isham says.

"This is the kind of place where you definitely want to get on the waiting list a year or two in advance," Isham says. "There are a lot of seniors in our country who are low income and need a pleasant place to live."

VOA remodeled the independent living center Sierra Manor last year.

Roebbelen Construction of El Dorado Hills, Calif. is general contractor on the $4.83 million project. Project manager Jeff Dees says his company has predominately hired subcontractors from northern Nevada, including:

* Northern Nevada Excavating for the sitework.

* Mike Becker General Contractor for the framing.

* Sierra Nevada Stucco for the masonry work.

* D&D Plumbing.

* Fleet Heating and Air Conditioning of Sparks for the HVAC systems.

Barnum and Celillo Electric of Sacramento will perform the electrical work on the job.

Dees says contractors will battle cramped logistics on the site, as the new building's footprint is constrained by Sierra Manor in front and Paradise Park in back. Roebbelen also will strive to avoid disrupting current residents of Sierra Manor during the yearlong construction. The company began working on the project on Aug. 29.

Dees says construction teams will have to coordinate closely with owners to keep impact minimal on Sierra Manor residents.

"We want to make sure we are not hindering them any more than we have to," he says. "The idea is to get into our own world in the back of that property. We will try to get weathered in as soon as possible before winter starts and hopefully we can focus on internal rough-in to carry us through the winter."