Dillon resident Guy Gadomski said very few senior populations across the nation come even close to being as active as Summit County’s. Nearing his late-60s, you might find Gadomski and his community ski mountaineering or navigating rocky terrain on a mountain bike. As the treasurer of a local nonprofit, Staying in Summit, he and the organization hope to provide seniors the means to do just that.

Staying in Summit seeks to identify and fill resource gaps for seniors so they don’t have to leave the county. Currently, the nonprofit is trying to push through a senior-focused housing project that aims to meet a variety of needs, and they’ve got a preliminary market analysis demonstrating the need is in fact there. 

The nonprofit engaged firm RDG Planning & Design to develop two concepts. One features a 60-bed building with services including assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, short-term rehab and respite care. The other is a two-building senior community with independent living and a community center. Gadomski said either concept could likely fit on as little as 5 acres of land based on what the firm advised the group. 

He said even if some seniors might not be able to participate in the typical adventure-junky Summit County hobbies, their spouse still might, and people in general don’t want to leave the community they’ve built. He added the healthy lifestyles of many Summit County residents can make for longer lifespans, furthering the need for senior support in the area. 

“There’s people struggling to stay here with their loved ones that might have something like Alzheimer’s or other health issues, and they are taking care of them 24/7, 365, it is a huge thing. … This is also to give those caretakers a break,” he said.  

Staying in Summit advisory board member Wendy Timm said the nonprofit’s concept could also free up housing stock for other community members. 

The nonprofit originally eyed Summit County’s plans for the Lake Hill development. The tentative development could bring more workforce housing to Summit in an unincorporated part of the county near Frisco and the Dillon Reservoir. Staying in Summit wanted to have their project on the site as well. 

Summit County’s communication director Adrienne Saia Isaac said there will be more concrete info on the status of the Lake Hill development after the county’s housing department presents its 2026 budget later this month.

Gadomski said the present uncertainty around the project does not deter the nonprofit from working to bring the housing concept into fruition.

“Staying in Summit is an important partner in our housing strategy, whether we’re looking at Lake Hill or another site, and hopefully we’ll have more information soon to help guide us forward,” Isaac stated in a text message.

What is the need?

Staying in Summit brought on PMD Advisory Services and Michael Starke to conduct their preliminary market analysis. Timm said they found Starke through a conference, and she said he is a big name in the senior housing world known for his work with the Green House Project. 

The Green House Project, what Staying in Summit members consider to be the blueprint, is a not-for-profit organization operating in the U.S. and Australia with the goal to bring more humanization and dignity to aging through housing. A majority of their projects involve skilled nursing facilities. 

Starke said he was tasked with conducting an objective, factual analysis gauging if there was a need for what Staying in Summit was proposing. He included some parts of surrounding counties, like Eagle, Grand and Park. To keep costs down, his company conducts its preliminary analysis remotely. Further stages of the project could entail an on-site analysis.  

Using a Boston-based data company, he gathered information on demographics like incomes and home values using data from places like the American Community Survey done by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

He then vetted what type of competition existed for assisted living care in Summit. 

“There was no competition.” he said. “The competition is located outside the market area.”

Data showed around 26% of Summit County households are headed by someone over 65. Starke’s analysis quantified demand potential for specific product types, like assisted living care. It showed around 38 beds could be needed for assisted living care, 13 could be needed for assisted living memory care, 10 could be needed for Medicare patients and 47 beds could be needed for Medicaid patients. 

Staying in Summit members said they are continuing fundraising efforts and the search for a developer to bring the project to fruition.