A 3-year-old assisted living center in Yonkers whose residents include Medicaid recipients plans to nearly double in size with an estimated $24 million construction project backed by the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency.
The Yonkers IDA board of directors on Tuesday gave its initial approval of the proposed expansion project at the Westchester Center for Independent and Assisted Living, a 195-unit residential complex at 75 Stratton St. South. Occupying the former campus of the Jewish Guild for the Blind, the center is owned and operated by Center Management Group LLC, an owner and operator of nursing care and assisted-living centers throughout the state. The Queens company paid $14 million for the hilltop property in 2010 and spent $8 million to $10 million in renovations three years ago.
Yonkers officials said the center”™s owner wants to demolish a vacant building on the property and replace it with a 158-unit facility, The Plaza at Westchester, to house an estimated 200 senior citizens. The developer aims to complete the project by the first quarter of 2016. The new facility would create 110 full-time equivalent jobs, according to city officials.
If the project is approved by city agencies, the Yonkers IDA agreed to grant Westchester Center”™s owner a $1,005,000 exemption on sales taxes for materials used in construction, a $388,800 mortgage tax exemption and a temporary property tax abatement.
“There”™s nothing like repeating a success story,” said Mayor Mike Spano, chairman of the city IDA board, in a press release. “The Westchester Center for Independent and Assisted Living provides an affordable home for so many senior citizens, yet there is still demand for more. We are glad to help it meet that demand.”
Described by its owner as an upscale yet affordable facility, the Westchester Center was the first assisted living facility in the county to open through the state Department of Health Assisted Living Program, designed to provide a less costly alternative to nursing homes for privately insured New Yorkers and Medicare and Medicaid recipients.
“Typical assisted living facilities are often too expensive for the average person, and will not accept Medicaid,” Yonkers IDA president Ken Jenkins said in the announcement. “This is a successful model that saves taxpayer dollars while providing a top-notch environment for the residents, including those who rely on Medicaid for their care.”
Mr. Golden. I am a resident of the present ALF, The Westchester Center. To this date, the almost 200 people who live here have not been told of this move to double the facilities population. In fact, most of the staff did not know of this move until I pointed to your article. The management apparently has tried to keep this news from as many people as possible for fear of running into any opposition to the plan. There are many residents here that feel that the current management has not proven that they can handle the number of people they now care for and will not be able to properly take care of an additional 200 residents. The Center is badly in need of repairs. Despite the fact that this facility is not sanctioned to take in Alzheimer’s and dementia patients because they do not have a separate unit for them, they have done so. As it is now, the dining area is not equipped to handle many more people. We eat at two seatings with half of our residents eating dinner as early as 4:30. There is no proprietary transportation. We have to rely on “charity rides” to take residents to shopping, restaurants or the mall. To call this place “A luxury facility” is a joke. Now, while I am all for low cost senior housing and the jobs it will create, I am shocked at the fact that the YIDA did not even think of asking any of the residents what they thought of the deal or even holdin public hearings . Adding 200 more residents will have a profound effect on the on both the present residents and any residents to come.