CREJ - Healthcare Properties - September 2016
Two architects are sitting on a bus … While it sounds more like the start of a bad joke than the beginnings of a new job, it was a serendipitous meeting two years ago that spurred a friendship and later a new path for Gary Prager, a veteran Denver architect who specializes in the senior living industry. It was on an early morning bus ride in Nashville that Prager and the only other person on the bus, a fellow architect from Baltimore, who also happened to be attending the same conference Prager was, struck up a conversation. The pair quickly discovered not only a shared affinity for the senior living market but also a number of common friends. Over the years, their friendship endured and prompted Prager to look to Hord Coplan Macht when circumstances changed at his former firm. In June, Prager, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, CDT, joined Hord Coplan Macht as principal to lead the firm’s senior living team in Denver. Prager, who joined the firm with 39 years of experience as an architect, has more than 35 years of experience in the senior living market. Prager will be responsible for expanding Hord Coplan Macht’s senior living practice in Denver and overseeing senior health care, memory care, and assisted and independent living projects. But it shouldn’t come a surprise that Prager has been in the industry for nearly four decades, as architecture has been a passion of his since his youth. “It’s a silly story,” recalled Prager. “I was in the Boy Scouts and was looking at merit badges I could earn and stumbled upon drafting and architecture.” Intrigued, Prager met with the only architect in his small Connecticut town, which cemented his fascination with the industry. Following graduation from New York Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in architecture, Prager began his career in New York before moving to Denver in 1979. It was in Denver that he was first introduced to working in senior living, previously having worked as a “generalist.” Prager and his wife, with whom he has three children and five grandchildren, returned to New York for a short time before making Denver their permanent home. He worked for 11 years with LantzBoggio Architects before serving as principal of Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh for 12 years. Most recently he was at H+L Architecture, where he served as senior life practice leader. Over his career, collaboration has been a constant to his success and the success of the projects he has been a part of, he noted. “Collaboration is key. The relationship between the architect and contractor is key,” said Prager. “But it’s not just the relationship with contractors, it’s with everyone. It is about respect. Everyone brings value to the table.” Prager's biggest rewards are when end users of projects he's been a part of realize that value. “When the users of our buildings benefit from the design of a project I did, it’s the best reward,” said Prager. “I remember at an opening, overhearing two elderly women sitting in wingback chairs saying, ‘Don’t you just love it here?’ It was the best thing I ever heard. It’s all about users benefitting from what we do.” The constant and fast-changing nature of the senior living industry is the most challenging aspect for Prager, who notes that the challenge also inspires him to lead his team to find the right solutions for clients. As for his success and longevity within the senior housing industry, Prager credits a simple philosophy. “I try to go above and beyond for my clients, especially the nonprofits, as I believe in their mission. I expect greatness out of my team and they expect it out of me. We try to bring out the best in design for the benefit of the users,” commented Prager. “Just because they are moving into a facility, doesn’t mean you have to give up your lifestyle. It should be a place you want to be.” Prager, too, is at a place he wants to be. “After almost 40 years, I still get up in the morning and say I get to go to work. I love what I do – not just the people I work with but the people I serve. It’s a rewarding field.”