Demand for refreshed common spaces and updated units for senior living communities is at an all time high. We sat down with Lucas McCurdy, President of The Bridge Group Construction, to get some tips that you may want to think about before starting your next renovation project and hiring a general contractor.

What Should Be Considered When Hiring a General Contractor?

Everybody at one time or another has had a nightmare construction experience. It's one of the common things if you ask anybody, “hey, have you ever done a renovation project?”. And inevitably, if they have, they're going to say, “Yes and it was a nightmare.” Or “Yes, it was a challenge.” So because of that, there are a lot of things to consider before starting a project in a senior living community. With that said, when you're hiring or looking to hire a general contractor, it may be very hard to find a general contractor that knows the ins and outs of senior housing. Before hiring them, interview them! That's one of the big things - bring them in for an interview. Talk to them face to face and have them tour your community and walk you through what to expect in your project setting. This will go a long way in figuring out if it's a good fit.

Why Should an Operator Consider Professionalism in a General Contractor?

Obviously, you want to have somebody professional in your building, and starting that face to face meeting and giving that contractor a tour is going to be one of the steps that you can find out is this person, is this team actually professional? Because that's going to be a big component to the success of the project.

What Traits Should a General Contractor Possess?

In my opinion, a professional contractor is going to have a healthy curiosity about your specific community. You need to look at the questions that they're asking you. Are they the right kind of questions? They may not understand everything about senior housing or about your community, but do they have a desire to want to know? That's going to be a big thing. How are they dressed? Are they clearly marked? This seems kind of like an obvious thing, right? But what they're wearing and what they have on is going to go a long way in making your residents feel safe. Because when you have people inside your community, your residents want to feel safe and know that the people that are there are professionals.

Why Is Safety Critical When Renovating an Occupied Community?

Safety when working inside of an open operating community is the number one priority. And one of the ways that we accomplish that at The Bridge Group Construction, and one of the ways that you can help your contractor accomplish that on your project is by having weekly safety meetings. This is going to go a long way to make sure that everybody is on the same page, that they are following the protocols that are currently in place at your community. 

‍Also, there are some obvious security measures, such as not leaving tools out, not running extension cords across walkways and paths. We aim to make sure that the residents are safe at all times, even in the middle of a construction project.

What Does Setting the Correct Budget Look Like?

One of the most important things, setting a correct budget, can make or break your next renovation project. So how do you do that? You get a team of professionals in place very early on in the project. Oftentimes, I get phone calls or emails from investors. They say, Lucas, we are under an LOI to purchase a building. We want to work with you. We want to talk with you about what we think we want to do as far as repositioning and improving the building. Will you work with us to help set a budget? And we call that a ROM, Rough Order Magnitude. It's a big, big step early on that you can put in place to make sure that you're on the right track. And number one, you're setting the correct budget.

The Importance of Growing, Improving, and Attracting

Updating your senior living community is going to improve the lives of everybody there. And there are a bunch of reasons to improve your building. You want to grow occupancy. You want to improve. You want to attract. You want to attract new residents and you want to attract talent to your community. You want to keep that great reputation of care that you have, but also match that great reputation with a beautiful building inside and out.

‍Finding and hiring a general contractor for your senior housing renovation project can be a challenge, but you can take these tips and some of these methods and means to go out into the marketplace and find a general contractor that is the best fit for you.

‍Our tagline at The Bridge Group is “Senior Living is Why We Exist”. That's why I started the company, to help owners, operators, and ultimately, seniors. 

Ready to start your senior living project? Discover how The Bridge Group Construction can ensure a smooth and successful renovation. Contact us today to learn more.