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SWEA CITY - The assisted-living facility being built in Swea City is nearly on schedule.

"When it rained for about four weeks straight, it did set us back," said Mitch Hauskins, a board member for the facility. "But they've made up for it, and now we're only a week behind."

The walls are going up, and contractors hope to have the roof on before the serious winter weather hits. The board hopes the facility will be ready for a grand opening sometime in March.

"There are 16 units, and we have four that are already spoken for ... They've put their names on a list," Hauskins said.

He added that other people interested in moving into the facility can begin inquiring at the beginning of next month.

The unique fact about Swea City's assisted-living facility is that it will be owned by the community's non-profit organization, the Swea City Foundation. There will be a Des Moines company - Signature LLC, which owns and manages other assisted-living facilities in the state - that will manage the day-to-day operations.

"This is just a branch of TEAM Swea City; we have our own board," Hauskins explained of the Swea City Foundation. "But we are very proud of how the community has come out to support this, and when I say community, I'm talking about the whole area and not just Swea City. We have people from Lakota, Fenton, Ledyard and Armstrong involved with the board."

The concept of a community-owned assisted-living facility began four years ago, and it was a financial sticking point that made the project difficult.

"We needed $190,000 in matching for the USDA," Hauskins said. "The USDA said that we were persistent; that most just give up ... The commitment has to be ours and now it is ours, because we own it."

The project's ultimate goal is to raise $300,000. As of Tuesday, about $250,000 has been raised.

"We do have an ongoing fund-raising effort," Hauskins said. "It's called '100 for 100.' We get 100 people to donate $100 a year for five years. That adds up to $50,000."

But more than anything, Hauskins has been impressed with the volunteer efforts of the community.

"We can't afford in these rural areas to think of the community as just one little town anymore. Volunteering will be needed for the community to keep going forward, and the people have been good and stepped up, and I'm proud of that."