Markeshia Ricks Photo
Hunter presents plans to zoners.
Fair Haven-based Mary Wade Home Inc. is making plans to have a bigger presence in the neighborhood, and its neighbors couldn’t be happier.
The 150-year-old senior community seeks to build an 86,000 square-foot, 90-unit building on the same street as the existing nursing home on Clinton Avenue.
The new building, at 138 Clinton Ave., would be directly south of the existing Mary Wade Home at 118 Clinton.
David Hunter, president and CEO of Mary Wade, told Board of Zoning Appeals members Tuesday that the specific plans for the expansion have been coming together in earnest in the last two and a half years, but plans to expand have been in the works for more than a decade.
Hunter was before the BZA because the nursing home needs a special exception for a 41-space surface parking lot at 113 Pine St., which will serve the existing home. A special exception is required for nursing homes in RM‑1 districts and because the lot is located over 450 feet from the entrance of the facility, when only a maximum of 300 feet is allowed by zoning regulation.
The new three-story building also needs variances for its height, which is proposed to be at about 39 feet where a maximum of 35 feet is permitted; and for its building coverage, which as proposed would exceed the maximum by two percentage points.
The special exception was referred to the City Plan Commission, which recommended Thursday that it be approved. The exception and variances will be taken up again by the BZA in November.
“This is a different building,” Hunter said. “It is a state of the art building. Part of it is to replace and existing building on that corner where the amenities are antiquated.”
Hunter said the new building will include 20 “memory care” units for those with significant dementia. The rest of the units are aimed at “young, old folks” who are looking to age in place and will include a mix of residential care and assisted living units.
Chatham Square Neighborhood Association Nathalie Bonafe supports expansion.
He said that like many in the aging business, the home considered moving out to the suburbs. Ultimately it chose to stay in New Haven and Fair Haven specifically because it has become an active member of the community.
By the amount of support the home has received for its planned expansion, it seems that feeling is mutual.
“It’s an honor for us to be here in the city,” he said. “We consider ourselves to be partners with the city.”
In addition to receiving a letter of support signed by all three alders from Fair Haven, Mary Wade received written and in person support at last week’s hearing from neighbors like Sally Esposito, who said that the home had been “a great neighborhood partner.”
“We feel this has been well planned,” Esposito told BZA members. “They contacted neighbors and gave us an opportunity to comment along the way.
Engineer Richard Couch and attorney Kari Olson at the hearing.
The Chatham Square Neighborhood Association also voted in favor of the expansion. Deputy Director of Zoning Tom Talbot suggested that the BZA and the City Plan Commission OK the special exception and the height variance. He was less enthusiastic about a variance for building coverage.
“Detailed calculations have not been provided to confirm that figure,” he said. “Staff also believes that any reference to prior relief concerning this standard is not relevant and that some substantive evidence of hardship related to the properties themselves needs to be demonstrated. That having been said, however, it is clear to staff that the success of the overall plan for this block depends design wise in large part on a consistent structural presence along all four streets surrounding this block.”
