A 9.25-acre tract of land at the intersection McEver and Browns Bridge Roads in Gainesville is one step closer to being the site of an 82-room assisted living and memory care facility.
That follows this week's unanimous recommendation for approval by the Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board (GPAB).
Manor Lake Development, LLC, President William Creekmore told the GPAB that neighboring property owners have told him they are anxious for the facility to be built.
“I have met with the Cresswinds folks (nearby active adult community) and they are real excited because…when…one of their residents falls or has Alzheimer’s…they will want to put them someplace close and that’s where we are going to be,” Creekmore said.
“Also, we met with Free Chapel (church across McEver Road from the proposed facility), the same thing, they have a senior outreach, they’ll be coming over for our folks. This is a wonderful location,” Creekmore added.
In other action Tuesday night, board members, by the narrowest of margins (4-3), recommended denial of a request from Brightstone Transitions to use the historic Smith-Palmer-Estes House at 446 Green Street as a group home for young male adults diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.
Helen Martin of Gainesville spoke in opposition to the special use citing the historic value and significance of the Queen Anne style home built in 1888.
“I wonder how many of you have had the privilege of being inside this beautiful, historic home. It’s absolutely breathtaking,” Martin said.
Martin expressed concern for the specialized architectural accents and mahogany design features in the home and wondered if they could survive everyday use by the eight male residents.
“We cannot live in the past, but we must learn from the past that when it is destroyed it is gone forever,” Martin said.
Brightstone Transitions Director Jason Cox assured the GPAB that great care and respect would be given to the house’s history. “We want to keep the home the same as it is and…protected,” Cox said. “We feel it is an amazing home.”
Final decisions on Tuesday night's requests rest with the Gainesville City Council and will be considered at a June 6 meeting.
