Senior Housing Complex Proposed in Mount Kisco
A proposal for a four-story, 142-unit senior housing complex that would be located at 2 Morgan Drive was unveiled at the Aug. 8 Mount Kisco Planning Board meeting.
Vancouver, WA-based Hawthorn Retirement Group’s conceptual site plan calls for the construction of a 40,432 square-foot main housing building and 4,243 square feet of accessory buildings. The parking lot proposed for the 5.7 acre site would include 114 spaces.
The property, which is located in a Research and Development District, is owned by Radio City Ventures LLC.
The project would require site plan approval and a wetland permit from the planning board. The project would also need approval from the village board of trustees for a zoning text change because the facility would not be a permitted use in the Research and Development District.
Mark Lowen, a senior land use specialist with Lenity Architecture, told the planning board last week Hawthorn provides residences for people typically in their 80s who are in good health and it would not provide health care. The proposed facility would provide residents with all their meals, housekeeping and linen services. The building would have several features including a chapel, beauty salon, exercise room, game room, libraries, a coffee lounge, a movie theater, and private rooms for family gathering, he noted. Lowen said the building would be situated near the heart of Mount Kisco and would cause no significant increase in traffic.
“We allow your seniors to stay in Mount Kisco,” Lowen said.
There would be studio suites of about 380 square feet; one-bedroom suites of about 500 square feet and two-bedroom suites of about 900 square feet, Lowen said. The suites would not have kitchens, he noted.
Hawthorn has constructed and operated 400 independent living facilities over the last 30 years, Lowen said.
Planning Board Chairman Doug Hertz said he favored the concept of the development, calling it “very beneficial” to the village if it was approved. However, Hertz said the village’s update of its Comprehensive Plan should be completed before the planning board begins its review of the proposal. The process to update a Comprehensive Plan typically takes 18 to 24 months, he said.
Hertz said the planning board made a recommendation to the board of trustees to change the zoning text for a previous senior housing facility application from another developer for the same site in April 2014. The application was eventually withdrawn.
If his colleagues agreed, a similar recommendation could be made if the board of trustees requested one about a zoning text amendment from the planning board, Hertz said.
