By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A new facility allowing seniors to “age in place,” was endorsed Wednesday by the Bowling Green Planning Commission. The board voted unanimously to recommend approval of a zoning change to allow the 115-bed facility for seniors on the east side of the city.
City Council will be asked to take action next on the request to rezone 18.3 acres along South Dunbridge Road, from A-1 agricultural to I-1 institutional. The property sits just north of the Wood County office building at 639 S. Dunbridge Road.
The rezoning will allow for the development of a new senior care facility, including areas for skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and independent living.
If approved, construction will begin in May, with the facility being opened in the fall of 2021. The property would be developed by Avenue Development, of Indianapolis, for Trilogy Health Services, of Kentucky.
Trilogy has been in business 22 years and has 117 facilities in the Midwest, including one in North Baltimore, according to Joy Skidmore, of Avenue Development.
Plans call for the Bowling Green facility to employ 90 full-time and 35 part-time workers. Some leadership positions may be brought in from other locations, but the majority of the employees would be hired locally, according to Matt Kwapis, also from Avenue Development.
Trilogy operates a not-for-profit foundation that offers benefits to employees, residents and the communities where it has facilities, Skidmore said.
For employees those benefits could include tuition assistance for workers and their dependents, scholarships, emergency assistance in the case of a disaster such as a house fire, help for first-time homebuyers, and health programs like smoking cessation.
For the residents, Trilogy helps pay for Honor Flight trips for veterans to Washington, D.C., and assists with “bucket list” items such as skydiving, Skidmore said.
For the community, Trilogy partners with local high schools for apprenticeships and job shadowing, partners with universities on nursing, and offers culinary certification.
The “health campus” will feature a single-story and partial two-story facility, with approximately 85,000 square feet. The first phase of development will include areas for short-term and long-term skilled nursing residents, for assisted living residents, and for memory care residents.
The second phase will be for independent living residents in “cottage-style” homes.
The campus is also designed to have a variety of outdoor spaces, including courtyards and covered porches.
Timing of the second phase of construction is unknown, but Kwapis predicted it will occur.
“You have a faster growing aging population than most of the United States,” he said.
Potential traffic concerns were addressed in a letter to the planning commission. The height of the traffic generated by the site will occur during staff shift changes, which will overlap one to two hours. None of the skilled nursing or assisted living residents will have vehicles on the site.
Most visitors are likely to come to the facility during evening hours around dinner time. Food delivery and trash pickup will occur during regular business hours, typically between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
In other business at Wednesday’s meeting:
- The planning commission welcomed new member Bob McOmber, who previously served on City Council.
- Chairman Jeff Betts announced that a public hearing is scheduled for the April 1 planning commission meeting, to take public comment on the proposed annexation of 40.6 acres at the southwest corner of Carter and East Poe roads.
- Betts also reported that the planning commission will review the proposed zoning code amendment to create a Gateway Zoning classification.
- Planning Director Heather Sayler reminded planning commission members about the importance of the U.S. Census, which kicks off in 10 days. This will be the first time that people can respond online and over the phone to census surveys, she said.
