We sat down with Lucas McCurdy, President of The Bridge Group Construction to hear about how hiring a specialized senior living contractor sets your senior living renovation projects up for success.

Get to Know Lucas McCurdy and The Bridge Group Construction

15 years ago, I stepped foot into the first ever assisted living that I'd ever been in. And much like the rest of the population of the United States, I was very clueless as to what a senior living community was. That day changed the trajectory of my career, and it helped me launch The Bridge Group Construction, which is a senior living specific general contracting company specializing in senior living renovations in Texas and Florida.

This is a very interesting time in senior housing where we have a huge demand entering the marketplace. The inventory for communities in the United States right now, an overwhelming percentage of them are 20 years or older, making them great candidates for repositioning and renovations. So for the operators and investors out there that are going out into the commercial contracting space to find partners, it can be a challenge in finding a general contractor that actually knows how to work inside a senior living community. I’ll give you some tips on how to do that! 

Why Are Design Standards So Important?

Just like every industry, the senior living industry has nuances. There are older adults living and aging and being taken care of inside these communities. And so the design is specific. These are purpose built buildings for senior housing, many of them. And so when I get engaged to learn more about a project, one of the first questions that I ask the investor or operator is, do you have a designer? Do you have a design plan, and who is that person? And has that person ever worked in senior housing? That's step one, and it's a very important piece of the puzzle to make sure that we get the design and the products and the specs correct that goes inside your community.

Getting a team of vendors from design to architecture to general contractors that specialize in senior housing, is one big key component in making a project successful.

Why Is Tailored Project Management Crucial?

Project management is key, and one of the things that we do to train our project managers and superintendents that are basically living on the job until the project's finished, is communication, communication, communication. These projects basically live and die by communication. And if we can set up that communication well in advance of the project ever starting, that's a big step in the right direction to make sure that the relationships are developed and the communication lines are open and things will go much smoother.

Are Phasing Plans Really Necessary for Success? 

Before we ever start a construction project, one of the big things we want to look at is phasing. You don't want to just say, okay, this is the day we're going to start this project and just come in the front door and start working. That's a recipe for failure there. You want to look at the project holistically at a 30,000ft view and say, where's the best place to start, and where's the best place to move from there? And so, for every project that we do, we create a phasing plan, present that as a draft to the operator, get their buy-in on it, and then we collaboratively work together to find the best phasing plan possible to make that project a success.

What are Some Keys to a Successful Project?

Safety and professionalism are key to any successful project. You need to be able to trust the people that are working inside your building, inside your community. Your residents are living there. This is their home. And so that level of safety and professionalism is going to go a long way in setting up those relationships early on and earning that trust. You want to make sure that you're working with your general contractor well in advance of that project. Bring them in the community. They need to see how you operate. They need to see the project. They need to see the residents that live there. They need to get buy-in from you and from their team to make sure that they know exactly what they're about to walk into, and that they're all on board to make it a success.

Things to Consider When Renovating Common Spaces.

Renovating common spaces is not easy because they're common spaces and people are utilizing these. You can't shut down your whole building just to do an update and a refresh. And so you really need to be thoughtful about that phasing. And some of these common spaces are really challenging areas like lobbies and dining rooms. Oftentimes that work or are parts of that work is done at nighttime. There may be two different crews. Some come in at night and do some of the heavy lifting, and some are back during the day to do some of the touch ups. And so these are all questions that you need to ask in advance of the project to find out the best fit for your community.

What Value Does The Bridge Group Construction Offer?

So our value proposition at The Bridge Group Construction is that we specialize in senior housing, and we know the nuances of your building. We know what it's like to work around older adults, from every type of acuity. We work in memory care, we work in independent living, we work in assisted living. And so our crews and our project management team, they know what's expected of them, and we've done this for years. So for you, the operator that may be listening to this, you may not have access to a specialized contractor that are specialized in senior housing, but there are tools that you can use and questions that you can ask in advance and make sure that that project is successful

The common thread that ties us all together is that we all care about the residents. We care about their safety, and we also care about the staff. We've got to minimize disruption. We've got to stay on time and we've got to stay on budget. And if we all work together, it will be a success.

Ready to elevate your senior living community? Discover how The Bridge Group Construction can transform your space with expert design, tailored project management, and specialized phasing plans. Contact us today to learn more!