The Miriam Osborn Memorial Home Association, owner and operator of The Osborn in the City of Rye is seeking site plan approval and a permit for tree removal to move forward with a planned expansion of the facilities on its campus at 101 Theall Road. The footprint of the campus itself would not be expanded.
The Oborn’s property comprises 55.88 acres and is located in the R-2 One-Family Zoning District. According to Attorney Steven Wrabel of the White Plains-based law firm McCullough Goldberger & Staudt, LLP, “the site is adjacent to the RA-6 ‘Active Senior Residence’ District to the north, which includes the St. Regis Residences. To the west, across Theall Road, are several large office buildings in the B-2 ‘Central Business’ District, as well as the Rye Manor apartment building in the RA-5 District. The property is bordered to the south by the Osborn School and Osborn Road, with single-family homes across Osborn Road. East of the site is Boston Post Road, with additional single-family homes.”
The Osborn has been operating from the Theall Road site since 1908. The services currently offered include memory care and assisted living, skilled nursing care, independent living apartments, and related community amenities. The Osborn campus includes facilities needed to provide its services such as office space and food preparation areas.
Wrabel points out that the last major update to The Osborn’s facilities was completed over 20 years ago, as part of its “Pathway 2000” master plan.
“Since those improvements were completed, treatment methods have become more sophisticated, the standard of care has greatly improved, and the expectations for a top-tier senior living facility have grown significantly,” Wrabel told Rye’s Planning Commission. “To address this evolving marketplace, and to ensure a level of care for its residents into the future, The Osborn undertook a detailed zoning amendment process with the City of Rye. The result of this zoning process was the establishment of ‘R-2 Senior Living Facilities’ as a use permitted in the R-2 District ‘subject to additional standards and requirements’ (sometimes referred to as a ‘Special Permit’ use).”
Wrabel said that The Osborn has undertaken a planning review with its residents and others and now is ready to ask Rye to approve its proposed new site plan.
Wrabel described the plans as calling for new independent living apartment buildings to be constructed within the central portion of the property and at the north end of the site. Two new “hybrid” independent living buildings are also along the eastern side of the property. A new assisted living building is also proposed at the north side of the campus.
Wrabel said that the site plan also calls for a new wellness amenity building in the center of the campus, and some new cottages at the interior of the property.
Wrabel said that some of the new buildings would have basement level parking and that modifications would be made to existing surface parking and interior roadways. He said The Osborn would provide more parking spaces than would be required under zoning. He said there would be no change in entrances or exits at the site.
He said that the construction would result in the addition of 108 new housing units to the site and there would be a landscaping plan to maintain the current lush look of the property. He also said that the proposed new structures have been situated to minimize impacts to neighboring properties and they would have very limited visibility even in winter.
It’s been estimated that 177 trees would be removed to make way for the new construction. The Business Journal was told that some of the trees are small enough to be replanted elsewhere while others are in poor condition. The Journal was told that additional trees would be planted to more than make up for those that are removed and Rye’s requirements regarding trees would be observed.
