Assisted living facility is reborn from the ashes

The owners of a Post Falls assisted living center destroyed by fire last year have rebuilt the burned-out facility and are in the midst of building a second care center.

After rebuilding Garden Homes, which re-opened in November, Ruby and Larry Stoker are nearing completion of a $6 million, 40-bed care center.

Legacy House, 1136 E. Mullan Ave., also in Post Falls, is expected to open sometime around May, Larry Stoker said.

The two-story facility will feature studios starting at $3,000, for a month’s rent, and one bedrooms starting at $3,100. Amenities include a full entertainment center capable of accommodating more than 200 people and an on-site rehabilitation facility. Residents will be able to enjoy an upper mezzanine, five or six recreation areas and a front porch.

“It’s going to look like a home,” Stoker said of the building’s design.

Garden Homes, a small center at 820 N. William St., caught fire last April, forcing an early morning evacuation of its 15 elderly residents. Although firefighters thought the attic embers were extinguished, the blaze rekindled and crews were called out again.

People living in Garden Homes were moved to other facilities and the couple, who’ve operated the center for six years, found themselves without residents and lacking pay.

“We struggled. There was no income. We just had to scramble and go to the bank,” Stoker recalled.

When Garden Homes reopened in November, he said half the staff and three former residents returned. Now the 16-bed center where Ruby Stoker serves as administrator, is nearly full, he said.

The new center, Legacy House, will employ about 25 people, and the couple plans to continue taking an active role in running the two businesses, Stoker said, adding, “We’re very much hands-on.”

“ For information, call (208) 773-8218.