Senior Housing Consults are planning to put in a new senior housing development within the next two years. The need for senior housing is growing in Solon, so the company is working on getting approval for a two-phase project that will start with a 20-unit building being built. 16 of these units would be single bedrooms with the remaining four being two-bedroom units.
The goal of the housing project is to create a complex for independent living seniors 55 years or older. They plan on adding garages to this complex and will include a community space in the interior.
The housing will be on two, one-acre lots on Windflower Lane. The lots are neighboring the Pet Health Center of Solon and across the street from Charlie’s Wholesale. The lots were put on sale by the Solon State Bank and both sides have agreed to the offer.
These lots have had a few discrepancies in the past when there were attempts to buy. The worries included traffic and parking, but President of Senior Housing Consultants, Allen Phillips, believes there will not be any issues this time around. Phillips said, “We have a nice project that will include plenty of parking. The great thing about seniors is not all of them even drive.”
The project still has a way to go before construction begins.
City Administrator Cami Rasmussen explained, “The project is at concept phase with no formal applications submitted to date. The next step in the process is for the city staff (myself, city engineer, Public Works Director) to meet with Mark Takes and Allen (Senior Housing board members) to better understand their intentions and begin to formulate a timeline for the above formal process.” Phillips and Takes presented their proposal to the city council on July 17. Rasmussen said it was, “well-received by the council and now city staff will help them work through the details and application process.”
Phillips believes rezoning could happen at the next council meeting and does not anticipate any challenges. Senior Housing Consultants has hired MMS Consultants and Solum/Lang Architects to help them through the rezoning process and to create site plans and architectural renderings to share with the community. Phillips said, “If [the zoning] moves forward, we will be taking the next steps on what would it cost, and who would build it. I am assuming it will be a series of a few council meetings.”
After the council, the next hurdle to get over would be figuring out the finances. Senior Housing Consultants have met with Dave Stein and Bridge Bank and there is interest in helping finance the project once the numbers are finalized.
Once it gets approved the project is something that they believe can be completed within a year and they hope to have it up and running at some point next year.
Senior Housing Consultants already have 20 units by St. Mary’s Catholic Church. This was also a two-phase project with the first built in 2000 and the second in 2008. Phillips said, “They have basically been at full occupancy for quite some time. This [project] is strictly for the community itself.”