POULSBO — Construction will begin in 2013 on the Edward Rose development project at Bond Road and State Route 305 in Poulsbo.

Phase one: an assisted living facility.

Paul Mott, director of site acquisitions for Edward Rose & Sons, said the company is contracting with Ecumen Associates, a Minnesota-based senior services company.

The assisted living facility plan will help tie the whole development together, according to Mark Kuhlman, project engineer with Team 4 Engineering in Poulsbo, the company working with Edward Rose.

The connection for utilities for the rest of the property will be at the assisted living facility site, he said, meaning its plan needed to be taken care of first. Its construction, however, won’t necessarily be first.

Edward Rose & Sons, a Michigan-based development and property management firm, is planning a mix of senior and family housing and retail at the corner of Bond Road and State Route 305.

The 55-acre neighborhood will have 540 apartments on 46 acres — 11.7 units per acre — with a community center, swimming pool and a central park with pedestrian paths; and a commercial area and 100-room senior care apartments.

The site plan has not yet been submitted to Poulsbo’s planning department, but Kuhlman is developing the plan based on the already approved master plan. Kuhlman said the firm received a “density bonus” by clustering the apartments to provide more open space, some of which will be accessible to the public.

The Urban Paths of Poulsbo plan has a pedestrian trail through the development site, and the neighborhood master plan includes those paths and a public park.

The open space also includes buffer zones along Dogfish Creek; city planner Alyse Nelson said the plan exceeds the required buffer zones.Other possible plans for the site: a park and ride, and a gas station.

“Edward Rose has spurred some other interest in that part of the neighborhood,” Kuhlman said.