Ross Paterson won the gratitude of a lot of people when he rescued the old Voyager’s Landing motel south of Ferndale and turned it into an assisted living facility. Heritage House should be open for business by the time you read this. But that was only part of Paterson’s vision.
One of his companies, Paterson Development, has now purchased several parcels of land surrounding Heritage House totaling 16 acres. He plans to create a huge retirement community featuring cottages, ponds, streams and trails. In addition, he will add a large commercial kitchen and dining area to the rear of the existing building, a second assisted living facility and a medical and dental office complex along Barrett Road adjacent to Heritage House.
In case you missed the story in our July issue, Paterson gained control of the so-called Pink Palace at an auction. The all-suites motel had been vacant for several years after a former owner defaulted on loan payments to a Native American group and they foreclosed.
Paterson is an American who grew up just across the border in Delta, B.C., and holds dual citizenship. He has a background in hotel and motel management and knew the facility couldn’t make it as a motel. Paterson also gained knowledge about assisted living facilities as former director of sales and marketing at Lynden Manor. He saw a dearth of higher end assisted living units in the area and no one had plans to build more. With this area identified nationally as a retirement Mecca, it was a no-brainer for Paterson to convert the facility to assisted living.
That’s not to say that there weren’t a few challenges along the way. Regulations for such facilities required Paterson to put in a mop closet on the second floor even though it is fully carpeted. That’s just one example. Paterson patiently made the necessary changes and by press time had passed all inspections and received his license from the state.
Basil Rolfe, a Canadian citizen, is Paterson’s partner in Heritage House.
“I got a call from a business acquaintance in Bellingham who said that Ross had this firecracker idea but needed help putting together the financing,” he said. “That’s what I do best. We got together and really hit it off.”
Rolfe practiced law for many years before getting involved in some small development projects. He worked with another person whose name is familiar in Whatcom County – Rick Westerop.
“Before long, I was making more money in development that I was at practicing law,” Rolfe said. “There were some potential conflicts between the two roles, so I quit practicing in 1994 and resigned from the law society in 1997.”
Paterson and Rolfe complement each other’s skills.
“Ross is a big picture guy, a real visionary,” Rolfe said. “My law background means that I’m the one who makes sure the ‘i’s’ are dotted and the ‘t’s’ are crossed. Overall, we’ve worked incredibly well together under some pretty difficult circumstances.”
Rolfe was able to convince a number of other investors, from Bellevue to Alaska, to back Paterson’s vision.
“Ross deserves a real pat on the back for taking a white elephant and turning it into a project that almost can’t fail,” he said. “We had a strong business plan, but it was Ross’ single minded determination that saw the project through when things got tough. We’re looking forward to tenants moving in and getting some cash flow going. This has got to be one of the most attractive and affordable facilities in the state.”
Now, they can focus on developing the rest of the complex.
“This will be a huge retirement community, second to none,” Paterson said. “In addition, it will be much more attractive than another mini-storage facility. There are fairly extensive wetlands and water detention systems on the site and we’ll take advantage of those to create streams and ponds. We’ll actually increase small-scale habitat. Landscaping will be extensive. A treed berm running along Barrett Road from the top by Smith Road to the north side of Heritage House will enclose the community and reduce noise from I-5.”
Paterson has been meeting with Ferndale city officials to involve them at the very beginning of the project. So far, reaction has been totally positive.
“Much of the site will consist of clusters of single story units specifically designed for those age 55 and up who do not yet need assisted living,” Paterson said. “These houses will be very high quality with cathedral ceilings, fine finishes, open floor plans and large rooms. It would enable people to down size without having to get rid of all their furniture. Each house will have a landscaped terrace and be connected to a network of trails leading through the whole development.”
Architect for the project is John Armistead, who created the master plan for Vancouver, B.C.’s, downtown waterfront and who has designed entire towns.
“This project will be like designing a small town,” Paterson said. “It’s not a question of if, but when.”
The number of houses on the site will depend on what can be accommodated without crowding.
“We can’t sit on this for a long time, so we’ll need to put it on the fast track,” Paterson said. “The biggest hurdle will be getting approval from the Corps of Engineers. The state Department of Ecology seems to like projects that enhance wetlands. We definitely don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. There’s a fine line between pushing and being patient with the process. Ideally we will break ground within a year, depending on the Corps.”
Armistead expanded on that theme.
“We want to involve everyone from the very beginning so that there won’t be any nasty surprises down the road,” he said. “We can’t tie the whole project down until we get certain bureaucratic things out of the way. We’ll permit it in one chunk as a planned unit development. That means we’ll also have to stick with the plan.”
The architect has mixed feelings about the existing building.
“This building is great on the inside and, well, interesting on the outside,” Armistead said. “The fencing, landscaping and waterfall around the sign have helped. The rest of the project will be in a different architectural style. The materials we choose will drive that style.”
Armistead designed Finnegan’s Alley in Fairhaven, where he has his local office.
“This development will compliment the existing facility and we already have our staff in place,” Paterson said. “At the same time, it will double our revenues. People in the houses will be able to take advantage of our transportation capabilities and use the assisted living portion like a clubhouse.”
The project will be a boon to local retirees.
“There are a lot of older people here already,” Armistead said. “It can be an enormous trauma for them to have to leave the community to find housing. It’s hard to let go of someplace you’ve lived for years. This community will help reduce that trauma. It will also make the transition easier when they have to move into assisted living. This will be a community, not just buildings.”
Impacts on the existing infrastructure should be minimal.
“There won’t be much increase in traffic and it won’t affect the schools,” Paterson said. “It’ll be nice when we get the Smith Road off ramp, but it’s certainly not crucial to this project. We’ve been working with Century Funding Group to get lenders together to finance construction.”
Meantime, all the units in Heritage House have been sold and no more applications are being accepted at this time. That’s a good indication of how badly this kind of facility is needed.