Building with an eye towards seniors

A construction company is about to fill a niche for the elderly of Saratoga.

Triple D Construction, a company that has operated in Wyoming for six years, is nearing completion of a fourplex apartment building on Bridge Street in Saratoga. The apartments should be ready for renters in May, said co-owner Bryan Drake.

The company has 25 years of building experience and has built similar structures in the past, but this one is geared toward the elderly, Bryan Drake’s wife Kathy Drake said.

“This one has been kind of tweaked to what we think is the need here, but for the most part this is not new to us,” she said.

The four rentals will be equipped with ADA compliant features for ease of living for senior citizens, and will be independent living, Kathy Drake said.

The couple identified the need for independent living for the elderly in Saratoga after speaking with senior citizens, local doctors and Wyoming state officials, Bryan Drake said. The conversations inspired the design of the new apartment building.

“If we can keep them in something like this, it is not eating all their money up and it’s safer,” he said standing inside the unfinished apartment building.

The need is great for independent rental spaces for the elderly in Saratoga, said broker and owner of Town & Country Realty Laurie Forster.

“If somebody is building an apartment building that is addressing (the elderly), they will find it fills quickly,” Forster said. “There is a huge need for that type of housing here.”

Overall, Saratoga has a shortage on housing, Forster said. During the past several years, available housing in Saratoga has dwindled from about 80 homes to about 34 homes.

Rentals in Saratoga are even scarcer.

“In the 18 years I have been in real estate there has always been a shortage of rentals,” Forster said.

Many people look at Saratoga for a possible place to retire, she said, and independent living for the elderly in Saratoga does not exist.

Saratoga has a senior center and also a full care facility, but nothing that will fill the “niche” like the new apartment complex, Forster said.

“In Wyoming, there is none of this,” Kathy Drake said. “You have to move away.”

The Drakes plan to have an open house sometime in April for the fourplex. People can also visit their website to see floor plans, and updates on the construction.

The fourplex is only phase one of Triple D Construction’s plan, Bryan Drake said.

The couple plans to begin building eight more units that are more age specific. The new construction will have a common area, and offer services to future residents, he said. For more information on the construction site, visit http://www.wyomingtoughbuilthomes.com.

 

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