Plans Unveiled For 125-Unit Assisted Living Facility

FALMOUTH- The developers of a proposed 125-unit rental assisted living facility at Atria Woodbriar on Gifford Street came before Falmouth selectmen last night to give an overview of their plans. The new building, which will also contain amenities for residents, like a bank and restaurant, will be 131,000 square feet.
The building is planned to be LEED-certified, meaning it will meet “green” building requirements. The site is in the recharge area for Long Pond, one of the town’s main sources of drinking water, so it will have an advanced wastewater treatment plant on site that removes nitrogen.
The Woodbriar pool will stay but the nine-hole Woodbriar Golf Course will be eliminated. In its place will be 15 acres of conservation land with a handicapped accessible walking trail with a gazebo area that has views of the two ponds on the property, Sol Pond and Jones Pond.
Selectmen are scheduled to discuss the project next week and vote on a comment letter about the project to send to state housing officials.
The project is being submitted as a Chapter 40B affordable housing development. Chapter 40B is the state statute that allows developers to bypass local zoning laws if they include affordable housing as 25 percent of the development.
In this development, 25 units, or 20 percent, will be priced as “affordable” according to county and state guidelines, for people who earn 50 percent of the median income. Making the units affordable at the 50 percent rate  means the developer can build only 20 percent as affordable.
The Atria developers submitted a petitioners article at last year’s Town Meeting to try to change the zoning on the property to allow the development, but the article was rejected by Town Meeting, so they pursued the option of a 40B development.
James Lane of Westwood, development planning director for Atria Senior Living in the New England region, gave background information about Atria and explained details of the project.
Atria has operated the Woodbriar facility for 10 years. They have 10 other senior facilities in Massachusetts, and 124 facilities in 27 states.
The existing Atria Woodbriar facility, which would remain in place, contains 99 apartments with 40 percent of them for Alzheimer’s patients.
Of the residents in that facility, 70 percent are from Falmouth, Mr. Lane said. The facility is 100 percent occupied, with a waiting list.
The average age in the existing facility is 87 and the average length of residency is two and a half years, he said.
Regarding traffic for the new facility, Mr. Lane said based on their other similar facilities, only about five percent of the residents drive. The facility provides free transportation to residents of the facility for a five-mile radius. “We encourage them not to drive,” he said.
Mr. Lane said the new building would be staffed by 65 new full-time employees and he enumerated benefits the company offers, including health insurance and tuition reimbursement.
The building will be constructed on a hill, so while the front of the building will be 37 feet tall facing Gifford Street, the rear will be 47 feet tall. It has a 37,000-square-foot footprint and a total square footage of 131,000 square feet.
According to the building’s architect, Peter Schmitt, the building will be shingle-style with studios, and one- and two-bedroom units.
He is looking to meet the “silver” LEED guidelines for energy efficiency, and toward that end, the building is designed to include special materials.
The parcel is just over 20 acres and the building will be constructed on about three acres. Fifteen acres will be placed in a conservation restriction with The 300 Committee. Mr. Lane said his company had tried to contact the town manager’s office about what to do with the 15 acres but calls were not returned, so they contacted The 300 Committee.
Selectmen asked several questions last night.
Selectman Mary (Pat) Flynn asked about the effects of the development on the nearby ponds and whether the developer would be interested in investing in a sewer hook-up. She praised the developers for designing a “green” building.
Selectman Carey M. Murphy said he believes these types of facilities are “light industry” and are a positive addition to the community for job creation.
The developers had invited selectmen to a site visit but they included the incorrect date in the invitation, so no selectmen attended. Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Ahmed A. Mustafa and other selectmen said they would like a tour of the site and asked that the developers reschedule the tour.