Downtown delight.

Anchoring Waukesha's central business district, Avalon Square celebrates the rich history of the city's downtown. A mixed-use and continuing care retirement community (CCRC), Avalon Square offers senior residents many opportunities to participate in community activities by connecting them with the urban vitality of Main Street. Recognized for design excellence by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the project required working closely with state and local government and forging public and private partnerships to expand the owner's former one-building facility into an urban campus occupying a square city block.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A historic-preservation mandate for the project included renovating the existing circa-1928 building (opened as Avalon Manor in 1968) while respecting its facade, and completely rebuilding an 1871 hotel, including a cupola that had deteriorated over the years.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"The project's scale and use of materials were carefully designed to be sensitive to and compatible with the context of the historic downtown," explains KKE Architects Principal Greg Woollums, AIA, head of the Designs for Aging studio.

Avalon Square offers a variety of lifestyle options within a continuum of care--from independent living to assisted living to specialty care, with an emphasis on serving those with Alzheimer's and memory loss. The design of the complex includes distinctive entries corresponding to these levels of care, including the Main Street entrance for independent residents, a drop-off/canopy entry for assisted living, and a below-grade parking garage that can be accessed by both populations via separate elevator cores.

Available to all residents, the ground-level Town Center provides access to a bank, a chapel, a library, a museum/art gallery, a cafe/deli, a convenience store, restaurant-style dining, private dining, a computer networked activity/learning center, a barbershop/beauty salon, a fitness center, lounges, and a secure landscaped courtyard. Separate retail space provides convenient shopping for both CCRC residents and the entire downtown community.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"Avalon Square's presence invigorates the downtown as it draws residents, their families and friends, employees, and members of the larger community to its services," explains David Fulcher, president of Presbyterian Homes of Wisconsin. "Its unique location invents a new standard for senior residential living."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Avalon Square's articulated storefronts, awnings, signage, lighting, landscaping, and the re-created hotel loggia complement pedestrian activity and Main Street vitality. Its residents are engaged in diverse activities inside and outside the facilities, allowing them to fully participate in the mainstream of the community's culture.

RELATED ARTICLE: Avalon Square

WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN

PROJECT SUMMARY

Type of Facility/Setting: Mixed-use and Continuing Care Retirement Community

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Owner: Presbyterian Homes of Wisconsin

Chief Administrator: David Fulcher, President, [phone]

Architecture: KKE Architects, Inc., [phone]

Interior Design: Encompass Interiors, [phone]

Photography: Philip Prowse Photography

Resident Capacity: 27 Memory Care units, 52 Assisted Living units, 68 Independent Living apartments and Town Center Commons

Total Project Area: One square city block with a build-out of 227,510 sq. ft.

Construction Costs: $15,400,000

Total Project Cost: $22,800,000

Cost/Sq. Ft.: $68/$100

BY ROBERT VOLZER, CID, IIDA, VOLZER DESIGN DEVELOPMENT