VETERANS VILLAGE ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENCE Case Study

from ENDING HOMELESSNESS IN AMERICA-A Blueprint For Success

by Arnold Stalk

Cited Works & Resources

Project: Veterans Village #3 Assisted Living Residence

Year Built:: 1960

Year Repurposed: 2018

Project Type: Developer - 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization

Location: Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada

Impact on City: To develop a state-of-the-art assisted living residence for United States Veterans.

Project Size: 56 units infill neighborhood housing.

Founding Goal: To create a model for replication across the United States.

Archival Website: www.sharelasvegas.org

By the year 2000, the number of homeless veterans had increased by a staggering amount in Southern Nevada. At that time, there was no assisted living other than the veterans’ home in Boulder City and and a few independently-owned under-10 bed facilities.

I decided that we were going to venture into assisted living with a state-of-the-art facility and state-of-the-art high-quality services for our heroes.

Assisted-living requires a high degree of experience, a comprehensive track record in the field, and a load of cash. We contracted with three different operators, and, for various reasons, it did not work out. This came at a time when I was also expanding, virtually tripling our size overnight and concentrating on new developments with supportive services.

We acquired a building that was completely burned down and shelled out. An extremely comprehensive renovation was done to include state-of-the-art fire alarm facilities, fire sprinkler systems, HVAC for the entire facility, state-of-the-art commercial kitchen with a fully furnished dining room, a pharmacy, and shared rooms.

The exterior contained a heavily landscaped serene garden, outdoor furniture, shaded areas, and a separate parking area for visitors and staff.

The facility also had a complete beauty salon and examination room. It is truly a model for replication.

ASSISTED LIVING units

Living Unit Before Renovations

A state-of-the-art assisted living facility in a totally renovated building designed for assisted living with comprehensive services. This was an experiment for me that I had never done highly specialized care like this before. We had hired three different companies to run this in a two-year span and eventually we sold this facility to another operator that was more experienced.

“The lesson I learned here was very expensive and taught me to ‘stay in my lane’. That is, do what you know how to do and concentrate on what your expertise is.”