Second assisted living project stirs in Pleasantville

The village of Pleasantville could become Westchester”™s retirement destination.

The Jewish Child Care Association (JCCA) is proposing a senior living facility on 7 acres of its 23-acre campus at 1075 Broadway in the village.

A second assisted living proposal, on Bedford and Maple Hill roads, is also in the early stages.

The JCCA presented its proposal to the village board at a recent work session. The preliminary plans call for a 35,000-square-foot, two- or three-story building containing between 75 and 100 units. The property is zoned residential. The JCCA operates the Pleasantville Cottage School, a treatment center for emotionally troubled youth.

The building would go on a portion of the property not utilized and would not be run by the JCCA. The JCCA, which has had the land in Pleasantville for more than 100 years, would either sell or lease the land to an outside company. At the work session, Mayor Peter Scherer said Pleasantville would require the company be a for-profit venture to allow the village to collect tax revenue.

“We expect to hear from them again in the coming months,” Village Administrator Patricia Dwyer said. “We don”™t have any immediate concerns about the plans they are presenting.”

Recently, Benchmark Senior Living, based in Wellesley, Mass., proposed turning a 3.5-acre parcel behind the United Methodist Church at the intersection of Bedford and Maple Hill roads into a 24,000-square-foot, 87-unit assisted living facility.

Benchmark is in contract with the church to buy the property, contingent on receiving approvals from the village. The village board is weighing the creation of a floating zone that would allow assisted living on parcels larger than three acres.

Aside from Benchmark”™s proposal, the village operates the Clinton Street Center, age-restricted housing for seniors who do not require assistance. Benchmark said it remains committed to its site at the Methodist Church.

Benchmark”™s proposal has opposition, including a group called United Homeowners of Pleasantville that launched an online petition against the project. The group, mostly neighbors of the property, fears the facility will be out of character with the neighborhood and the village.