More senior housing at Cheney Care

It was a vision for many years: to create another housing option for active seniors in Cheney. The vision was to offer the independence of living in a single-family home while alleviating the hassle of lawn care and home maintenance and providing a smooth transition to move to a skilled-care facility if the need arose.

When Keith Fauerso took over as CEO at the Cheney Care Center in 1987, leaders were talking about it—“It was a dream back then,” he says. Now, the Cheney Care Community offers senior apartments, assisted living and nursing home services, and they’ve begun marketing a new option in the form of duplex homes called Blackstone Estates.

Twelve duplex units in six buildings are planned to the north of Cheney Assisted Living at 2219 N. Sixth St. The CCC is working with Spokane builder Gordon Finch on the project, which will be financed by residency agreements.

The duplex units, ranging from around 1,500 to 1,700 square feet of living space, will each have two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two-car garage. Residents ages 55 and over will pay a residency agreement of between $233,000 and $237,000, plus a monthly maintenance fee, to live in the homes. Under the agreement, 80 percent of that base amount will be returned to the resident or their estate when they either move out or pass away.

“It’s a common structure. A lot of the retirement communities in Spokane have something similar,” Fauerso said. “They can use the unit for as long as they desire.”

Fauerso said the development would cater to active seniors. Their residency would include access to all CCC activities, including meals, activities and bus transportation to shopping and appointments. It would also include access to in-home nursing care and 10 days of care per year at the nursing home, should residents need short-term care.

In the end, Fauerso said the mission of the non-profit CCC is to meet needs for seniors in the community.

“I think we can provide a very good value for people and keep meeting those needs,” he said.

The organization has been marketing the development since August, and there’s been interest, Fauerso said, but so far few have committed to buy in. He said many people who are interested own a home and some have lived there for most of their adult life. As part of the residency agreement at Blackstone Estates, Fauerso said the organization would assist residents in selling their current homes.

Construction is planned for this spring, but the project will be phased as people commit to a home.

“For right now, we’re just on paper until we get a couple of commitments,” Fauerso said.

The Cheney Care Community is also expanding its senior apartment offerings at Sessions Village with a six-unit triplex planned behind the assisted living facility. Fauerso said the current apartments are full, and the new apartments will expand the offerings.

Both developments will go in on land that was either donated to the CCC or purchased through donations, Fauerso said.

For more information about the Cheney Care Community, call 235-6196.

Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].