Master Planning: Shining Light in the Dark
Watching Halloween movies, do you ever wonder why people walk around in the dark when things would be a lot less scary if they turned on a light? Master planning is like that. It’s a vision and a roadmap, illuminating clear strategies for transforming places and spaces. It lights the way for an organization’s growth and development, and it enables a long-term view of projects built from the information and optics of a community’s operations, market needs and standards, and cost realities.
These tips can help you create a master plan that is both realistic and empowering, one that considers all relevant factors and drains the power from the unexpected:
Pi Architects, Vice President, Mark Warrick, AIA, LEED, AP
Standardization is key. This is where all the ‘I’s’ are dotted and ‘T’s’ are crossed. It helps create buildings that are both efficient and cost-effective by drawing on experience to avoid costly surprises down the road, like unused amenities, renovations that look great but add more work for staff, or designs that feel outdated just a few years later. Standardization removes many of the unknowns, enhances the ability to control the future to some degree, and doesn’t reinvent the wheel.
A strong master plan is comprehensive. It creates a larger picture that considers issues, including the buildings or community’s target population, economy/budgets, transportation capabilities, environmental considerations, and the demographics and history of the surrounding area.
Flexibility, not rigidity, is a feature. A good master plan enables flexibility and the ability to pivot when barriers pop up or goals or visions change. As Mark Warrick, AIA, LEED AP, Pi vice president, said, “One common myth is that a master plan is a fixed document, but it is more of a fluid process that takes into account what you know about the future but allows for change as necessary and appropriate.” Master planning typically involves several phases, including project initiation, stakeholder engagement, site analysis, and implementation.
Input up front is essential. Ensure everyone on the team is engaged, heard, and appropriately involved. “You want to get feedback from everybody, just as you do for repositioning. However, it’s more strategic, and you’re thinking deeper and more long-term,” said Warrick.
Money matters but not exclusively. You must maintain realistic financial control over the project to ensure it aligns with strategic objectives, manages costs effectively, and allocates resources appropriately. The master plan provides a benchmark against which results can be compared. “You don’t necessarily want to be constrained by the dollars, although budgets will guide the project through the phases,” said Warrick. The project’s architects, designers, builders, and financial experts should be part of the budgeting process. They will listen to your vision and goals for the community and collaborate with you to bring them to life in a financially sustainable way. They will also keep you from wasting money by, for example, investing heavily in upgrading an HVAC system that will need to be replaced in five years or building pickleball courts when your existing tennis courts are unused.
Experience counts, so build a trusted team. Once you assemble a good team, there are many benefits to using the same team for multiple projects. When the team excels at collaboration and communication, understands how to avoid common pitfalls and control costs, is well-equipped to overcome challenges and obstacles, and is deeply aligned with your organization’s vision and mission, it is a win-win.
Take a bird’s-eye view. Warrick said, “Take in all the factors, including things that make sense from the sustainability side of things, an economic side, a maintenance standpoint, and an environmental side.” This will help ensure your decisions are practical, achievable, and based in reality. For example, certain plants, grasses, and foliage may be beautiful and fragrant, but they are also high maintenance and don’t do well in various climates. “Bring everybody to the table and start talking about what you want. You might have a great idea, but when you go through the master planning, you realize that it won’t work as you envision it,” said Warrick. The team may devise a way to make it work or come up with viable alternatives.
Don’t forget to include the marketing team. “They can have significant input on what people are looking for and what prospective residents want – and don’t want – in a senior living community,” said Warrick. For instance, it may be a waste of money to invest heavily in three-bedroom or large units when most prospects are seeking one-bedroom units or looking to downsize.
Have plan B. This is where the flexibility of master planning comes in. When something takes longer or costs more than expected, the master plan should be flexible enough to adjust and move forward with a solid Plan B. For example, if residents won’t be able to use a popular common space during the holidays, provide a viable alternative space. If you realize that you can’t afford both a coffee shop and a bar, equip a space to be a coffee shop in the morning and midday and a bar in the evening; or arrange for a food truck – with coffee and breakfast service – to come by the building every day. Ultimately, said Warrick, “Have contingencies for when things take longer than you expected or won’t work the way you anticipated. A good, experienced team can have a tremendous impact here.”
As scary movies teach us, wandering around in the dark is never a good idea. Senior living communities of any size in any setting will benefit from a master plan that lights the way and keeps trouble from lurking in the dark.
