Nursing home project moves forward

The city of North Ridgeville will potentially have an addition to the community with a new nursing home and rehabilitation center near Washington Boulevard and Lear Nagle road.

During the city’s Planning Commission meeting Jan. 9, members approved the applicant Marc H. Cohen, president of North Coast Architects, Inc., for his project to create a nursing home and rehabilitation center for the community. The nursing home will be one of many in a developing project, belonging to an owner unnamed at the time.

The nursing home will be on 11.86 acres in the highway commercial district, taking up only 10.92 acres of it and avoiding any residential land in the district, Cohen said.

The facility will be a 85,370-square-foot onestory center, including three court yards and 103 private suites, he said. It will provide guests with full supportive administrative offices, physical therapy, a kitchen, dining and more, he added. With the outdoor space, Cohen said they do not exceed any building or setback requirements that could affect parking, lighting around the facility, space to prevent flooding and any landscaping needs.

According to Cohen, he said there will be 60 parking spaces in the front entrance for visitors, family, outpatients and staff. There will be another parking lot for staff with 56 spaces. With the traffic being somewhat high in a highway commercial district, he said it should not be high coming into the facility. That would be due to separate entrances for visitors and staff, as well as any emergency vehicles. On Washington Boulevard, there will be an entrance solely for the emergency vehicles, he said.

The actual exterior of the building will be made from stone and brick to give it a residential look in character, he said. A potential engineering company to help build the project from the exterior to interior is in the works until it is approved by the city’s planning commission, Cohen added.

However, during the meeting, questions rose from residents on the stormwater detention the facility will have and how it will manage water in case of floods.

“Water detention will be included, but has not been decided on its area of design yet,” Cohen said. “It will manage all water run-off from the building, parking and remaining sites and release it into the existing system at a slow and controlled manner.”

More discussion sparked from the public on the privacy of the area and the amount of screening that will be provided around the building to keep privacy within the facility and residents near. Cohen said all of the original woodland would remain to keep the residential feel and more trees, shrubs and mounding to the area and throughout the facility will be added.

“It will be professionally landscaped with parking lot and driveway screening,” he said. “There will be a variety of trees and shrubs within the area. Along Washington (Boulevard) there is a variety of exciting land and were going to do what we can to maintain as much of it as possible because there are nice evergreen trees in the area.”

Questions rose of fencing in the area, but Cohen said that if the city wanted fencing, they would consider it. However, he said it would take away the residential feel in the area and make it look more institutional. He said landscape is more appealing and much nicer. He also said the landscaping would offer privacy in the area as well.

For the location, he said property values are unknown, but that it is a great transition from industrial, highway commercial and residential as opposed to what else could be in the lot.

“We like being in residential neighborhoods to create spots for residents and their families to grow into,” he said. “This is where we wanted to be. It makes us part of the neighborhood and we’re good neighbors.”

“It’s a nice transition from a commercial area to a residential,” said Planning Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Swallow said. “It’s a good use that you can access a buffer from extreme commercial use.”

She said there are other commercial businesses in the area with the facility adding more of a family feel to the area.

According to Cohen, his company would like to start working on the project in summer 2018 and open in the following summer.