The project to build a senior housing and learning development on the campus of SUNY Purchase has received another financial boost.
A vote by the Board of Directors of Westchester County”™s Local Development Corporation (LDC) has given preliminary approval to expand the amount of tax-exempt bond financing it”™s providing to at least $385 million with a cap of $400 million.
The project is being marketed under the name Broadview Senior Living at Purchase.
The developer, Purchase Senior Learning Community Inc., originally had been approved for up to $350 million in financing through bonds to be issued by the LDC. The developer said that because of increased costs due to the Covid-19 pandemic the price tag for the project has increased and so has the developer”™s need for financing.
At the same time, the developer made slight revisions to specifications for the project, which has been planned to be completed in two phases.
Phase I was to produce 220 independent-living units, 18 assisted-living beds and 16 memory care beds in a four-story building with one underground level of parking, a separate assisted-living and memory care building and up to 46 single-family and duplex homes, with total construction involving 560,000 spare feet of space.
Phase II was to have developed 165 independent-living units along with 38 assisted-living and memory care beds totaling 270,000 square feet of space.
According to the new financing resolution approved by the LDC, the project has been modified and the financing will cover the costs of construction and equipping of a new senior living facility containing approximately 174 independent living units, 46 independent living villas, 36 assisted-living beds, 32 memory care beds, related support spaces and a building containing community and amenity space, all totaling 552,000 square feet.
The construction is slated to take place on a parcel covering 40.05-acres on the SUNY Purchase campus at 735 Anderson Hill Road in Purchase. The site is set back approximately 450 feet from Anderson Hill Road.
An affiliate of Life Care Services LLC, a nationwide manager of senior living communities based in Des Moines, Iowa, has been selected to manage the facility.
Project Manager Wayne Rush said the project has been “very well received,” noting that over 75% of the units in the first phase have been pre-sold. He said construction costs for the project have increased between 40% and 60%.
The idea for a senior living project on the Purchase campus first surfaced almost 20 years ago, with former SUNY Purchase President Thomas J. Schwarz credited with nurturing it.
Legislation allowing the school to lease some of its land for the purpose was approved by the state legislature in 2008 but was vetoed by Gov. David Paterson. A 2011 bill was signed into law by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, allowing the college to lease some of its land to the nonprofit entity Purchase College Advancement Corp. That corporation will retain control of the land.
A public hearing on the amended resolution is scheduled for Sept. 1. After the public hearing, Westchester County Executive George Latimer will be asked to approve issuance of the bonds, which he is expected to do.
The LDC explains that it assists Westchester not-for-profit organizations in securing tax-exempt bond financing benefits and that the benefits are provided at no cost or risk to the taxpayers of Westchester County.
The LDC began operating in 2012.
