Case Study – Village on the Isle
The Challenge
Village on the Isle, a 35-year-old, 16-acre, 325-resident retirement community, began a complete repositioning in January 2016. The Phase 1 expansion included the construction of two new five-story residential buildings, a significant renovation of Village on the Isle’s assisted living building and an entirely new 66,000-square-foot Health Center. One of the primary goals of the expansion was to provide a much needed infusion of modern technology. But as is the case with many older buildings and campuses, at their conception, planning for technology was not considered. The technology system infrastructure shared space with other functions, while the technology that had been implemented was fragmented and not optimized for future improvements. In addition, network interconnectivity between buildings was nonexistent.
The Solution
After an exhaustive site survey and a needs assessment with the Ownership Team, Reese Hackman created a technology master plan that identified the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for using technology to better serve the residents and staff at Village on the Isle. Along with major network upgrades, a completely new access control, integrated with the security camera system, was recommended. In addition, a mass notification and resident monitoring system was planned.
The network infrastructure was designed per TIA and BICSI Standards. All buildings were interconnected with OS2 single-mode fiber optic cabling, routed underground. Most telecom spaces were upgraded to dedicated rooms with HVAC, generator backup power, cable management and credentialed access controls. Category 6 cabling was run to all new access points to provide ubiquitous Wi-Fi coverage on campus.
Status Solution SARA system was standardized for campus mass notification and resident monitoring. This allowed the community to use one platform for broadcasting of staff, resident, and family notifications. In the event of an emergency call, resident elopement, or other ‘triggers’ to the system, there is an escalation procedure to ensure the alert is ‘heard’. This provides continuity and security for the occupants.
While the community had an existing camera system, it was not integrated into the workflow and processes on campus. Camera monitoring points were established at each access control point and at central staff offices. A unified credentialling database of staff, residents and visitors was developed.
The Impact
Reese Hackman collaborated with the facility Owner and the rest of the design team to come up with a solution that meets the technology needs of Village on the Isle and allows for future growth. With a master plan in place, the Community can now address technology issues on campus with planned solutions. In today’s modern systems, the network is the platform which everything builds from. With a Standards-based network infrastructure in place and proper space allocated, network moves, adds, and changes can happen in a much more planned way.
PROJECT DETAILS
Client – Village on the Isle
Architect – RLPS
Year Completed – 2020
Construction Cost – $30M
Technology Services Provided: Complete Network Infrastructure Upgrade, New Emergency Call/Mass Notification System, New Access Control System, Upgraded Campus-Wide Wi-Fi
