A senior-living facility in South Abington Twp. plans a sprawling expansion of new independent-living buildings, but neighbors say the growth could negatively affect their quality of life.
Elan Gardens Senior Living seeks to add a four-story structure with 48 units to its existing building, and 16 one-story buildings, on its 22-acre property at 465 Venard Road.
The project, which will be known as Elan Commons, calls for variances for setbacks ranging from 20 to 50 feet on all sides of the property and for the addition, which would be 44 feet high — 9 feet above the maximum building height of 35 feet under township zoning. It also calls for a special zoning exception to construct the 16 freestanding housing units. The plans include several stormwater management areas and 133 new parking spaces.
Facility officials said in the application the project will use an existing state road for access, services and operational infrastructure, and won’t increase traffic, noise or demands to public utilities. They anticipate construction will start early next year.
Jim Alperin, immediate past president and a current member of the board for Elan Skilled Nursing and Rehab, said the expansion allows older individuals to live on their own with support available. The new units allow residents to transition from living independently to assisted living and, if needed, skilled nursing.
“It’s really a much more dignified way of aging in place,” he said.
Alperin said Elan identified offering independent living in its strategic plan, which was developed in 2014. He said the expansion will benefit the region by strengthening a community resource that supports older adults, families and caregivers. The additional housing units on the site will also make more housing available around the county as people move into the units.
The township granted a special exception for the existing facility in 1995 and the current building opened in 1996. Alperin doesn’t expect the facility, which has 58 assisted-living residences and 52 residents, will hire more employees with the expansion. Elan Gardens Senior Living employs 60 people.
Some residents who live near the facility oppose the plan, stating it could adversely affect the area’s character.
Alex Fried, who has lived on Quail Hollow Drive near the property since 1998, said Elan officials informed him and his neighbors of their plans in December.
He said Elan Gardens is OK as a neighbor, with some light and noise coming from the property. But he said that when the township granted the special exception in 1995, Elan Gardens didn’t intend to develop the rest of its property and there would be a 250-foot buffer from neighboring properties. The proposed addition and new buildings would mean modifying the township’s 1995 decision, Fried said.
The plan, he said, would change the character of the residentially zoned area, with more light and less buffering between the facility and surrounding properties, which could impact property values.
“The impact to us directly is the loss of some privacy and character of the neighborhood that we enjoy today with what was agreed to 30 years ago,” Fried said.
Alperin said Elan Gardens has heard neighbors’ concerns and adjusted the plans to create larger buffers between the facility and neighboring properties. He said the institutions surrounding the facility don’t object to the plans. They are Heritage Baptist Church, the Scranton School for Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children, the Abington Center for Education — formerly Clarks Summit University — and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.
“I think we’ve listened to all of their concerns and we’ve modified the plans as best we could,” he said. “We’ve adjusted the plans of the project so that the impact is minimal.”
The township’s zoning hearing board will consider the plans at a hearing next month, township Manager JoAnn Pane said.