Reno care center realizes much-needed expansion

For the better part of two decades, Diane Ross has been creating a vision of a care facility that stretches from pediatrics to geriatrics.

But when it came time to finance a much-needed facility for her business, Ross found that a compelling vision may not be enough to stir lenders to action especially when the lenders are surrounded by the worst financial panic in 70 years.

Still, The Continuum managed to borrow nearly $2.3 million to buy and renovate a 17,000-square-foot building in Reno, and the building has proven to be a springboard to more growth for the company.

The Continuum got its start 17 years ago when Ross, a speech pathologist, began thinking about an intergenerational facility that combined child-care, adult day care and rehabilitation services for all ages.

The facility today is licensed for 23 children and 50 adults in day-care, and its specialists see dozens of people daily for services such as speech or occupational therapy.

And the services blend occasionally.

Twice a day, for instance, little children learn respect for elders as they spend time with older adults who find joy in reaching to children even as they battle dementia.

"It's in the style of an extended family," says Ross, who notes that the model established at The Continuum has gained traction elsewhere in the nation.

The challenge: Working in leased offices at 3700 Grant St. a couple of blocks west of the Atlantis The Continuum was bursting at the seams and needed to undertake some expensive improvements to meet the needs of a rehabilitation and wellness center.

Working with JoAnn Ross-Blake, the center's chief financial officer, and Jerry Cruitt, an architect who serves as its vice president, Ross began looking for new locations or land where The Continuum might build.

Little was available, given The Continuum's need for a building all on one level and Ross' requirement that each office occupied by the center's staff of 50 full- and part-time workers should have a window.

"It's just wrong not to have a window," she says. "You need sunlight."

The search was hampered, too, by concerns about financing a purchase.

"When we started this, the bankers looked at us like we were nuts," says Ross-Blake. It didn't help that The Continuum was seeking a loan in late 2008 as the financial markets were imploding.

The deal began to come together as the owner of the 30-year-old building in which The Continuum was leasing space became willing to sell the property.

And Ross-Blake was referred to Nevada State Development Corp., a company in Reno that specializes in Small Business Administration loans.

Lenny See, a senior vice president and loan officer with Nevada State Development Corp., worked with a primary lender Bank of America to structure a loan with a 5.511 percent fixed rate for 20 years. The purchase closed in December 2008, even as the credit crisis was at its worst.

"This was a strong borrower with a strong cash flow," says Jonathan Miri, Nevada business development officer for Bank of America. "The bank has never stopped lending on these strong owner-occupied properties."

A key element of the package for The Continuum: The SBA 504 loan, which is available for purchases of commercial real estate or equipment, required only a 10 percent down payment.

That gave Cruitt some headroom to budget an extensive renovation of the facility. Every surface in the building walls, ceilings, floors was renovated. New office space was created. An courtyard became a glass-walled atrium.

Jim Burns Construction LLC of Sparks was the general contractor on work that was completed in mid-2009, and the work was completed both on time and within budget.

The center grew almost as quickly as space was added. Says Ross, "This building works for us, but we're getting squished again."