By Jacqueline Kimball
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

It’s the dead of winter outside, but crews are busy inside at Hickory Chase. The Erickson retirement community will open later this year.

"The construction process brings something new every day, so the work is never boring," says Hickory Chase Development Director Garrett Power. "This job is moving along at a good pace."

Last year, following a cool, wet spring, construction efforts benefited from extended summer weather: The campus community building, Cardinal Clubhouse, got under roof; its windows went in; and exterior masonry began.

By fall, clubhouse rooms were laid out, and ductwork and wiring had begun. So had work on the clubhouse swimming pool and Main Street—the climate-controlled walkway that links Sparrow’s Ridge, Hickory Chase’s first residence building, to the clubhouse’s restaurant level.

A stroll down Main Street will take residents to the Audubon restaurant and Meadowlark Café, to the creative arts studio, the bank, and Fireside Lounge.

No longer just a vision, "Main Street is beginning to take shape," Power says, and so are the individual spaces within the clubhouse.

Now under roof, the four-story residence building is abuzz with activity. "We’ll be working both inside and outside this month," says Power. That means electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and sprinkler installations inside, plus sheathing and masonry outside.

Power is most excited about work on the new Britton Parkway, the main entrance to Hickory Chase. Paving began last fall, and the roadway is now complete.