Portland's RoseVilla Senior Living Unveils First Solar-Powered Resilient Hub in Region's Senior Living Sector

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- RoseVilla Senior Living has unveiled the Pacific Northwest's first solar-powered resilient hub in the senior living sector. The ROSE Port—short for Resilient Operations and Sustainable Energy—was formally dedicated on Nov. 13 and marks the completion of the first major infrastructure project in RoseVilla's 25-year Resiliency Action Plan.

"The ROSE Port represents what it means to care deeply for our people and our planet," said Glen Lewis, CEO of RoseVilla Senior Living. "By investing in resilient infrastructure, we're prioritizing the health, safety, and well-being of our entire community. RoseVilla isn't waiting to respond to climate-related emergencies; we're preparing for them."

Designed and built in partnership with Portland-based Green Hammer Design + Build, the ROSE Port is engineered to operate independently during extended outages caused by heat waves, ice storms, wildfires, or seismic events. Key features include:

• Earthquake-Resilient Design: Built to Risk Category 4 seismic standards to ensure the structure remains safe and immediately usable after major earthquakes. The water tank is installed separately from the main structure for added safety.
  
  
• Energy Independence: A 17.82-kilowatt rooftop solar array paired with a 30-kilowatt-hour battery and inverter system generates and stores clean power. The battery can charge cell phones of all Residents and Team Members (approximately 450) and power about 40 CPAP machines, walkie-talkies, and essential small devices during a grid outage.
  
  
• Water Independence: A 3,100-gallon cistern captures, filters, and UV-purifies rainwater on site. In an emergency, it can provide about a gallon of drinking water per Resident for about 8 days.
  
  
• Sustainable Materials: Built with mass timber (mass plywood panels), a renewable alternative to steel or concrete that reduces carbon footprint while protecting old-growth forests. Posts and beams use FSC-certified glued laminated lumber, and the concrete foundation was repurposed from the original on-site structure.
  
  
• EV Charging Infrastructure: Four Level 1 chargers support zero-emission transportation.

Sustainable and Resilient Senior Living
The ROSE Port is a major milestone in RoseVilla's resident-backed 25-year Resiliency and Sustainability Action Plan. More solar-powered hubs are planned across the 22-acre campus. With two net-zero neighborhoods—The Oaks and Trillium Townhomes—RoseVilla is nationally recognized for its leadership in sustainability and resilience.

Resident-Led Climate Action
Residents are key to advancing RoseVilla's climate resilience work. The Green Team leads sustainability initiatives and partners with senior living communities throughout Portland. The Ready Force Team is trained to assist neighbors during emergencies.

"Residents care deeply about sustainability and want to live in alignment with their values," said Lewis. "Their passion and leadership are helping us build a climate-ready community, one where people can live safely, purposefully, and in harmony with the planet."

About RoseVilla Senior Living
RoseVilla Senior Living  is a single-site, nonprofit Life Plan Community (also known as a Continuing Care Retirement Community) located on 22 acres along the Willamette River at 13505 SE River Rd in Portland, Oregon. Visit www.rosevilla.org.

Contact:
Wendy D'Alessandro
[email protected]
Click here for high-res photos/broll

SOURCE RoseVilla Senior Living