RDG in the Media: Addressing the Need for Senior-Focused Housing in Summit County, CO
A nonprofit in Summit County, Colorado engaged RDG to develop concepts to expand local senior housing offerings.
As Summit County, Colorado's population ages, the region faces a growing challenge: how to support active, long-term residents who want to stay in their mountain community but lack housing and care options. Summit Daily News shares how a local nonprofit, Staying in Summit, is working to meet this challenge, with support from RDG Planning & Design.
Summit County’s older adults are among the most active in the nation. Yet while the community promotes healthy, high-quality living, it offers limited long-term care infrastructure. A preliminary market analysis showed no local assisted living or memory care facilities within the county.
To help turn that need into a tangible, buildable solution, Staying in Summit engaged RDG to develop two design concepts: one proposes a single, 60-bed facility offering assisted living, skilled nursing and short-term care; the other envisions a two-building senior community with independent living residences and a shared community center. Both designs emphasize compact, efficient land use and are rooted in the nonprofit’s mission to allow seniors to age in place, close to loved ones and familiar routines, and the mountain landscape they call home.