North Haven disappointed over loss of new Maplewood senior care facility

May 02--NORTH HAVEN -- Town officials got some disappointing news recently -- there won't be a new senior care facility going into one shuttered for years on Route 22.

Officials from Maplewood Living recently informed First Selectman Michael Freda that a new senior living facility specializing in those with Alzheimer's disease and dementia won't be replacing the former Clintonville Manor at 201 Clintonville Road.

"The Maplewood project was one that we were all very excited about, a project that we have spent over two and a half years in terms of bringing it to North Haven," Freda said. "We were very surprised and disappointed when the executives of Maplewood called me to tell me that they were pulling out project."

The company owns a number of senior living facilities around the state, and in January 2015 announced it intended to renovate the former Clintonville Manor nursing home into an assisted living facility that would focus on those with memory problems, including dementia and Alzheimer's.

Freda arranged for meetings with the developer and residents living around the former nursing home, and the reception to the project was positive, unlike the year before when another developer proposed building a 150-unit housing complex that would have been a mix of regular and senior housing.

The Maplewood project would have been perfect for the property, Freda said, which is why it was especially disappointing to get the call recently informing him that the plans wouldn't go forward.

"They cited a variety of reasons -- they didn't think that the rental market was as vibrant as they had first thought a couple of years back," he said. "Construction costs are going much higher, which I think was a contributing factor as I was told, and they really didn't feel that moving forward having a facility built here in North Haven would be able to attract full occupancy."

Officials from Maplewood couldn't be reached for comment because they were traveling over the past several days, a company representative said.

It's frustrating to lose the project in light of the time the town put into it, Freda said, but they will now concentrate on finding another organization that would be interested in renovating the property, and in particular for a facility serving the senior community.

"For us, it is a tremendous disappointment," Freda said. "Over the course of the past two and a half years, we have spent hours, days on this project. I actually visited their facility in Bethal with their executives there and took a tour. We introduced Maplewood to the Chamber of Commerce for networking opportunities, we have spend hours internally in terms of reviewing the plans and working with Maplewood, issuing the approvals, and prior to that, I hosted public meetings on the subject. We had the public and the Clintonville Road area totally on board with this project."

It also means a financial loss to the town of the taxes it would have collected on the new facility, as well as a needed service to residents, he said.

"For us, we probably will lose about $300,000 in taxable income to the town," Freda said. "We lose a level of services that I think North Haven certainly needed, caring for seniors from an assisted living standpoint and a memory standpoint. It would have been a perfect fit here in North Haven on Clintonville Road."

But now, the town's focus is on the future, Freda said, and finding a new use for the property, even if it means starting all over.

"Now, after the disappointment, we have to turn our efforts to trying to find another solution," he said. "I am currently working with the commercial real estate agent to identify other opportunities, and that is the position I'm taking now -- trying to move forward working collaborative to try to create a positive outcome."

They are looking to attract another senior living or assisted living facility to the site, he said, because he believes that is the best use for the property.

"I always thought that since it was a senior nursing home, I'd like to see some kind of senior housing there or another assisted living facility, something that can provide for our seniors but also something that can fit in the area without a tremendous increase of traffic," he said, "something that is non-intrusive to the community there. We certainly don't want retail there, We want nothing that is intrusive to the community."

The 13-acre property is owned by the Simonetti family of the Naugatuck Valley. They also owned the former Derby Nursing Home. The Clintonville Manor property, including the 38,000-square-foot building, is again up for sale.

"In working with the commercial real estate agent, they have been very good in terms of asking me what we would like to see there and I've outlined things like senior housing, senior assisted living, something that has a low impact to the area, and they seem to be very receptive to our thoughts and ideas here," he said, "If something else comes forward, I'll look to host another public meeting to get the resident's feedback before it goes to Planning and Zoning."

While disappointed, he's ready to start marketing the property anew, Freda said.

"This is a good example of all of the time and effort and commitments we had from Maplewood, getting the approvals, spending the time -- sometimes when these things happen it's easy to get discouraged. Although I'm not happy it turned out this way, I remain completely energized and charged up to find a solution here."

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