FARMINGTON — Plans for a $7 million addition to the Woodlands Memory Care building were presented to the Planning Board on Monday.  

The proposed Woodlands Senior Living includes 48 residential care beds and 18 assisted-living apartments, said Lon Walters, an owner.

About eight neighbors addressed concerns about placement of the second phase of the project and the need for more plantings and fencing around the property.

Board members voted to visit the property at 6 p.m. Friday, May 19. Anyone can come but board members cannot answer any questions at that time, Chairman Clayton King said. 

The board will meet June 12 at the Municipal Building to discuss any comments or questions before making a decision.

The $4 million Woodlands project is under construction and is expected to open this fall.  

Addressing concerns that there was no mention of a second phase when the Planning Board approved the project last year, Walters said the opportunity to purchase a contract with the state to provide beds for MaineCare patients came up much sooner than expected. 

A second phase was mentioned at selectmen and Tax-Increment Financing meetings last year as a long-term plan, Town Manager Richard Davis previously said.

In the last six weeks, Walters and his son, Matthew Walters, submitted the highest bid for the state contract and it allowed them to proceed with plans, Walters said.  

Elliot Thayer of Thayer Engineering Co. in Farmingdale presented the proposed addition to the board last month. Construction on the second phase was proposed to start in June with work completed in September 2018.

Construction will have to wait until the board makes a decision, Thayer said after the meeting.

Project architect Peter Bethanis and Thayer presented plans which included traffic, lighting, stormwater run-off and landscaping.

Dr. Erika Schumacher, whose family lives next to the access drive to Woodlands, off Webster Road, questioned the impact on the neighborhood. She suggested the second phase was better suited for commercial property sites on nearby Routes 2 and 4.

“The town wants business and jobs but it needs to be done in a thoughtful way and so it doesn’t break the hearts of those in the neighborhood,” she said.

Schumacher reminded the board of their suggestion last year for more trees and privacy fencing which, she said, was not done or included in the new plan.

In response, Walters agreed to double the amount of trees along the access road. 

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

Woodlands Memory Care in Farmington

Woodlands Memory Care in Farmington