$50 million nursing facility being built in Post Falls

One of the nation’s largest operators of nursing homes and assisted living facilities is building a $50 million complex in Post Falls.

Life Care Centers of America has started construction on a 120-bed skilled nursing facility at 2800 E. Mullan Ave., near Wal-Mart, which will be ready in about a year. Later this year, Life Care will begin building the project’s second phase – 104 assisted living units and 153 independent living units.

The facility will be the second in Kootenai County for the Tennessee-based firm, which ranked 181st last year on Forbes’ list of largest U.S corporations, with $1.96 billion in revenue.

Life Care officials estimate that the Post Falls complex will have a $10 million impact on the local economy, including a yearly payroll of $4 million, plus purchases of goods and services. About 170 people will work for Life Care in Post Falls.

Elder care is a growth industry in Kootenai County, where 13.1 percent of the population is 65 or older, according to 2005 Census figures.

About 1,500 people work in nursing homes, home health care and other residential care for the elderly in the county, earning annual wages of nearly $30 million, according to state statistics. Over the past decade, the number of elder-care jobs has grown by 80 percent.

An Oregon firm is also planning a large senior-living facility in Post Falls. Sunwest Management Inc. of Salem has purchased eight acres on the corner of 12th Avenue and Cecil Road. The company anticipates breaking ground this fall on 95 assisted living units, said Sebastian Brown, director of acquisition for Canyon Creek Development, which is Sunwest’s real estate partner. A second phase will include 16 units for people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

About 60 full- and part-time workers will be employed at the development’s first phase, Brown said.