The planning board for the city of New Brunswick recently approved a plan to build a new 14-story senior living facility at the corner of Easton and Landing Lane. The board voted unanimously to approve the site plan less than a year after approving the project’s redevelopment plan.
Meeting materials state that the project will provide 171 new units across the 2.3-acre site at 501 Easton Avenue. There will be 109 independent living units, 30 assisted living units, and 32 memory care units. The project also includes a parking garage and a rooftop mezzanine.
Professionals working on behalf of the applicant, Parker Health Group, submitted testimony during the two-hour meeting held on May 11.
Christian Roche, a senior principal at Langan Engineering, said the new building will have a footprint of nearly 40,000 square feet and will span a combined 416,000 square feet across 14 stories. The access roads at Easton Avenue and Landing Lane will be converted to two-way roads to improve access to the 209-stall on-site parking deck for residents, staff, and visitors. The project also includes a generator on the north side of the building.
Eric Krull, an architect with THW Design, said that the first floor of the building will include community amenities such as a coffee shop and administrative offices. The second and third floors will consist of the memory care units. There will be a garden on the second floor, on the eastern side of the building, and a dining room and auditorium for the residents of the building’s independent living component.
The independent living units will span the sixth through 12th floors of the building. There will also be a wellness center on the seventh floor of the building. The 13th and 14th stories of the building will be additional amenity space, including dining and community amenity space.
Beth Sparling, the COO of Parker Health Group, said that the current assisted living facility serves 45 residents. She also clarified that while the current facility serves as a nursing home, the new building will have a more hotel-style feel.
The independent living units will be for individuals who drive and are between 75 and 80 years old. They will also have the opportunity to use the facility’s supportive services. The assisted living units, she added, will be available to individuals who live independently, have supportive services, and can still drive. They also have the ability to drive, but they will be offered an aide to assist with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing.
The assisted living memory care units are available for individuals who do not drive but require a higher level of care, not one on par with a nursing home.
Sparling said that despite the expansion in the total number of units, the overall staffing level will be about the same. However, there will be fewer staff on the premises in the evenings and on the weekends.
She added that the company serves approximately 10,000 individuals living in their own homes and that Parker Health is about a year away from beginning demolition of the existing building, which has been in operation since 1907.
Jersey Digs reported in October that the planning board approved a redevelopment plan for the site. That plan called for a 12-story assisted living facility rather than 14 stories.
Parker Health Group owns four other nursing homes in Somerset, Monroe, Highland Park, and Piscataway.
