Retirement Center Expansion Approved By Land Use Panel
Development
A county board approved a plan to expand the Park Place Retirement Community on Thursday despite the objections of a neighbor who said the new buildings would ruin her walks in a nearby natural area.
The hearing examiner committee voted 3-0 to allow Park Place owners to construct two more buildings on about 4-1/2 acres adjacent to their Park Road facility.
One of the buildings would contain 60 apartments for elderly people who need help in their day-to-day lives.
An attendant would be on duty in the building to help residents with things like food preparation, bathing and taking medication.
The second structure would house 30 beds for stroke victims, Alzheimer’s patients and other people who need round-the-clock care.
Park Place spokesman Dee McGonigle said the expansion was needed in the community and would have a negligible impact on the surrounding neighborhood. Traffic shouldn’t be a problem, he said.
“Our facility is much less intensive than regular multi-family apartments,” McGonigle said. “Only one of three or one of four of our seniors own cars.”
His company currently operates a 117-apartment retirement home in the old Edgecliff sanitarium.
No one opposed the project except Wanda Warren, who lives nearby.
She said she feared the expansion would have a negative impact on the Dishman Hills Natural Area, which borders Park Place on the east.
Warren said she often walks in the hills because she likes the feeling of being in the country.
“This is going to spoil that experience,” she said.
The committee members were not moved by Warren’s testimony. xxxx OTHER PROJECTS The hearing examiner committee also approved three other Valley construction projects Thursday:
Crescent Hill: The GEMS Partnership received permission to divide just more than four acres off Ella Street into 14 lots for single family homes. The land is located in a largely undeveloped area north of the Northwoods subdivision west of Argonne Road. Several neighbors complained that traffic generated from the project, especially during the construction phase, would add to the area’s dust problems. The developer agreed to oil the dirt roads in the area during construction.
Bingo hall: The committee gave John Peterson permission to build a 12,800-square foot building on 1.6 acres between Argonne and Mullan, south of Broadway. Most of the building - nearly 8,000 square feet - is earmarked for a bingo hall. Peterson’s agent, Robert Wills, said his client is negotiating with the Red Cross to run the facility. The remainder of the building is designated for retail space.
Indiana Place: Developer Wes Crosby got the go-ahead for a three-house subdivision between Baldwin and Indiana, just west of Vista. The homes will be located on less than an acre of land currently zoned for residential uses.