Port panel likes senior housing change for bluff development

The concept of building a 36-unit assisted living and memory care facility in the proposed Prairie’s Edge subdivision on Port Washington’s south bluff was approved last week by the city’s Plan Commission.

Members praised the idea of the 26,000-square-foot senior housing facility, which will replace a 10,000-square-foot commercial building and eight townhouse condominiums previously approved for eight of the 35 acres in the subdivision.

But some members also expressed concern that the senior housing provide the same amount of tax revenue to the city as the previously approved plan.

“One of the reasons you were chosen (to buy the property from the city and develop it) was you were profitable for the City of Port Washington,” commission member Tony Matera said. “How does this affect that?”

Developer Tony Polston of Black Cap Halcyon said, “In my opinion, it’s a wash if you’re looking at just this,”

The senior living facility is a more stable use for the property than a commercial building with tenant turnover, Polston said.

The building would be built on the east side of South Wisconsin Street, with the front of the structure facing the east.

Prairie’s Edge, which would be the city’s largest subdivision when completed, would encompass 35 acres, and Polston has mapped out roughly the southern two-thirds of it. The senior living complex would be on the north side of that area, and Polston said he would design and engineer the remaining land to accommodate the facility.

Attorney Lisa Wood told the commission that the senior housing fits in with the original concept of multi-generational housing in the Prairie’s Edge development.

“In the initial plan, this idea of aging in place was there,” she said. “The need is there to have a higher level of care.”

The commercial uses for the subdivision included medical care providers that would have aided residents as they aged, she noted.

Tom Ostrom of Matthews Senior Living, which would operate the facility, told the commission that the facility would be more residential than a nursing home. 

The typical resident is someone who needs care and has either lived here or has family in the area, he said. The average person is age 82, a woman, and she has some medical needs and requires some help with everyday activities. The facility would also provide meals and social activities, something many seniors lack.

While most units are one-bedrooms, Ostrom said they often locate couples in adjoining rooms with a door between them.

Matera noted that a number of other senior living facilities are planned in Port and the surrounding area and asked if that had been taken into consideration.

“I’m comfortable with it,” Ostrom said, noting the need is growing and that growth is projected to continue.

Commission member Mike Ehrlich praised the concept and the location, but said it’s important that the architecture of the senior housing match that of the rest of the subdivision so it is a cohesive development.

“I love the idea of aging in place,” he said. “The original development talked about multigenerational housing, and this fits right in with that.”

Polston said that Prairie’s Edge was conceived as a multigenerational development, with many of the homes having a single level and those that were multi-story having main-floor master suites.

“Our target market is empty nesters,” he said. “That’s what we’re expecting to fill everything up with. This is a perfect complement to that.”

But Ehrlich also questioned whether the subdivision plan would be compromised by the senior housing, noting that the commercial space it is replacing was considered important as a place where residents of the subdivision might gather.

There is another 15,000-square-foot commercial building that remains in the plan, Polston noted. While the senior housing will also replace some townhouses, there is a feeling that the original plan had too many of these units, he added.

Ald. Paul Neumyer, who also complemented the use, noted that the city has received some complaints about deliveries and ambulances at other senior housing complexes.

A commercial building would likely have more deliveries and be noisier, Polston said.

Commission member Eric Ryer asked Polston whether he planned to convert other areas of the subdivision to senior housing if this facility is successful.

Polston said he does not envision that occurring. 

Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven, a member of the commission, asked if the developer had considered a two or three-story senior housing development instead of a single-story building. Because of the topography, that might fit the lot, he said.

“I certainly think a two-story would unquestionably be appropriate,” Vanden Noven said. “I have no doubt this is going to be very successful and in demand.”

Ostrom said that the regulations for multi-story buildings are different and not something his firm considered for the site.

While city officials have been frustrated by the lack of progress on the Prairie’s Edge subdivision, Polston noted that construction of the senior living facility would be done this year, noting that Matthews Senior Living wants to lease units by the end of the year.

Officials had expected work on the subdivision would be underway last year, and were upset last fall when Polston, who assured the city he would not need tax incremental financing for the project, unsuccessfully sought TIF funding for the development.