Approval paves the way for 74-unit senior facility South River board gives go-ahead to build 3-story building

Staff Writer

By jennifer dome

Approval paves the way
for 74-unit senior facility
South River board gives go-ahead to build 3-story building

After ironing out numerous issues raised by borough officials, the South River Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a plan for the construction of a 74-unit senior housing development at its meeting Aug. 28.

"I want to give credit to the zoning board for making this decision," Mayor Robert Szegeti said last week.

The new development, which will be located behind the existing Willett Manor, off Woji Way and Whitehead Avenue, will be built by National Church Residences, a nonsectarian, nonprofit group based in Columbus, Ohio.

The new residence will be approximately 56,000 square feet, according to the project’s engineer, Daren Phil. The three-story building will have a brick exterior.

The plans call for 74 one-bedroom apartments, each with its own kitchen, dining area and bathroom. The building will also have centralized lounge areas and two elevators.

Like Willett Manor, the new building will house senior citizens, in this case people age 62 and over, who are still able to live independently. Neither Willett Manor nor the proposed building are considered assisted-living or full-care residences.

There will be an access road to the property leading from Woji Way, as well as a connection road from Willett Manor to the site. After studying the use of the parking lot at Willett Manor, where only 17 residents have cars, the plans for the new parking lot call for 39 spots to be available to the residents.

Representatives of National Church Residences said they were eager to move quickly with the project when they appeared at the board’s July 31 meeting. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated approximately $7.1 million for the senior residence, said Donald Lubin, a consultant for National Church Residences. However, representatives said these funds could be lost if progress was not made.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be $7.9 million. The balance of about $754,000 will be paid by Middlesex County, Lubin said.

Zoning Board Chairman Frank DeMonico informed National Church Residences that there were a number of issues the board would like to resolve before it could give final approval to the plans.

One issue surrounded the width of the turning radius on the access road, which borough engineer Bruce Koch said was too small for the emergency vehicles in the borough. According to DeMonico, the plans presented at last week’s meeting were revised to allow a larger turning radius.

National Church Residences was willing to comply with all of the recommendations made by Koch and by Borough Planner Thomas Sheehan, according to DeMonico.

Plans dealing with water runoff from the new residence were also reviewed after the applicant’s initial presentation. Although Koch was concerned about the added volume of water being routed to Bissetts Pond, Koch and the board resolved at last week’s meeting that there would be no problems, DeMonico said.

Board members were reassured by representatives of National Church Residences that one of the elevators in the new residence would be deep enough to allow room for a stretcher. Board member George Cerekwas had said previously that the elevators at Willett Manor were not large enough to fit a folded-down stretcher. A woman who needed medical attention, he said, had to sit up in a wheelchair because it would not fit inside the elevator.

"Everyone was convinced that it met state standards," DeMonico said of the elevators planned for the new facility.

The biggest problem board members had with the plans for the new residence was the fact that the applicant, initially, was not proposing to build sidewalks along Whitehead Avenue.

"That was not a negotiable item," DeMonico said.

The board was concerned that elderly residents would not have a safe, stable place to walk if there were no sidewalks along Whitehead Avenue. Since board members would not back down on the issue, National Church Residences agreed to comply with their request, DeMonico said.

"Everything went very well, and I complimented them on their professional presentation," DeMonico said.

The idea to build an additional residence on the site where Willett Manor is located has been discussed since that facility opened, Szegeti said. While he was running for mayor, Szegeti said he wrote a letter to National Church Residences requesting that it consider another building on the premises.

"This gives the ability for our seniors who cannot maintain a household to remain in their familiar surroundings," Szegeti said.

Although South River residents will not be given a priority to live in the new building, Szegeti is hoping they will be accepted upon request.