Bethel Communities Management, the nonprofit based in Croton-on-Hudson that operates The Knolls continuing care retirement community at 55 Grasslands Road in Greenburgh has submitted plans to the Town of Greenburgh to add 75 new independent living units to the community.
The concept was first run by the Town Board last year according to Attorneys David Cooper and Vincent Pedone of the White Plains-based law firm Zarin & Steinmetz. Bethel Communities has now filed an application package with Greenburgh. The Town Board recently referred it to the Planning Board, which was to take it up at its July 15 meeting.
At the same time it is adding units, Bethel plans to upgrade amenities at The Knolls that will allow more seniors living there to age in place. The attorneys explained that independent living units are handicapped adaptable and have individual kitchens and bathrooms. Services provided include dining, laundry, security and housekeeping.
“The Knolls Site is a 29.2-acre parcel that was historically part of a single 58.72-acre property designated in the 1980s for development as a ‘self-contained residential neighborhood’ under the Town’s PUD (Planned Urban Development) regulations,” Cooper and Pedone said.
The property is situated on the south side of Grasslands Road, approximately 225 feet west of the intersection of Grasslands Road and Stephens Lane in the Planned Unit Development District.
Westchester Meadows, which constructed the current senior living community on the Knolls Site, consisting of 120 independent units and 10 assisted living units as well as 20 skilled nursing beds, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in December 2015. Bethel purchased the Knolls Site through the bankruptcy proceedings in November of 2016.
“Bethel has determined that it must increase the number and size of its IL (independent living) units, as well as upgrade common area amenities to stay competitive with other communities in the market,” Cooper and Pedone said in a document that was part of the project application package. “The Knolls is undersized relative to other nonprofit senior care operations in the region.”
The plans call for 41,240-square-feet of additional building footprint to accommodate the new 75 independent living units and an auditorium. The expansion would be located at the northern portion of the Knolls Site. New landscaping would be put in place to help screen the new construction and an additional 48 parking spaces would be provided at the site, bringing the total number of parking spaces to 216.
The attorneys say that the Town Board would serve as the “Approving Agency” for the project since the Knolls Site is more than five acres. In addition to seeking amended site plan and special permit approvals, they said they will be seeking from the Town Board a Steep Slope Disturbance Permit as well as a Tree Removal Permit. In addition, the project would require variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
.The application proposes approximately 25,475 square feet of disturbance to 15% to 25% steep slopes, approximately 8,875 square feet of disturbance to 25% to 35% very steep slopes and approximately 4,178 square feet of disturbance to 35% or greater excessively steep slopes. Also proposed is disturbance within the 100-foot regulated buffer of an existing off-site wetland/watercourse. No direct disturbance to the off-site wetland/watercourse is proposed.
Proposed is the removal of 30 regulated trees. The landscaping plan provides for the planting of 188 trees and various shrubs as replacements.
