South Coast Improvement completes $6m renovation at Atria-Darien

Darien, CT South Coast Improvement Co. (SCI) finished the final phase of renovations at the Atria-Darien senior living facility located at 50 Ledge Rd. The company had conducted two previous rounds of work before the most recent construction was completed this past fall.

The final phase featured the construction of two new wood frame additions at the east and west end of the building. The additions totaled 9,000 s/f of total new space to the building including six new resident apartments. Design was provided by Mark Troost of Stein Troost Architecture.

Previous to the construction of the additions, the entire building was refreshed with new finishes. Additionally, the dining room, beauty salon, bar and library underwent redevelopment and improvements for better use and visual appeal.

Another featured part of the renovation was the conversion of the buildings from a two-pipe fan coil system to a four-pipe system. This upgrade gives the resident individual control over both heat and air conditioning. The coordination of this part of the project included converting eight units per week while the individual apartments were occupied.

“The work we did on the heating and cooling required us to be in the resident’s room for about three days per room. That kind of work takes close coordination with staff and the extreme patience of the residents. We had both at Atria-Darien and that’s the key reason why this project had a successful result,” said Tom Quinlan, president of SCI

The project began in January 2017 was completed in September. The total cost of the renovation was $6 million. Atria-Darien is one of 190 communities owned and operated by Atria Senior Living. Those communities are spread out over 28 states and seven Canadian provinces.