Santa Marta retirement community expansion nearly completed

Work is nearly completed on an $11 million expansion at the Plaza at Santa Marta continuing care retirement community in Olathe.

The project, first announced in early 2015, includes 18 private skilled nursing rehabilitation suites, 12 memory support suites, eight assisted living one-and-two bedroom apartments, an an expanded rehabilitation gym.

The skilled nursing portion of the health center is expected to open this month, with the memory support units, assisted living apartments, and gym to follow soon, officials said.

“This expansion had two main purposes from the very beginning,” said Chet Surmaczewicz, Santa Marta’s executive director. “The first was to continue keeping our promise to our current residents to provide the highest-quality senior living options in the area. The second, equally important, was to anticipate and meet a growing need for those high-quality options among area seniors.”

Surmaczewicz noted a survey from the Mid-America Regional Council, which predicted that the Kansas City area’s older adult demographic is expected to increase by 90 percent over its 2010 population by 2030.

Santa Marta is located at 13800 W. 116th St., across from St. Thomas Aquinas High School. The faith-based non-profit retirement community, which opened in 2007, is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

The full health care service facility includes six full-service dining venues, heated underground parking, two chapels, a library, arts and crafts studeio, and a fitness and aquatic center. There are about 270 residents in the community.

Santa Marta has about 192 employees, and officials said they plan to add about 40 jobs to accommodate the expansion.

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 11:34 AM with the headline "Santa Marta retirement community expansion nearly completed."