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Masonic Homes of Kentucky plans two new living facilities for seniors with nearly 200 additional units in all at its internally growing campus on Frankfort Avenue in Crescent Hill, despite limited access to the site that is the subject of a legal dispute.
The Louisville Metro Planning Commission approved plans on Thursday for The Meadow Independent Living complex, which will have 124 independent living units on 11 acres to the right of the entrance to the home off Frankfort, and Grove Pointe Assisted Living facility, which will have 72 assisted living units on 5.6 acres at the back of the campus, which borders St. Matthews on the east.
Neither project will cause the campus to exceed density limitations, Nicole Candler, a Masonic spokeswoman said. Both projects are "core to the Masonic Home's mission of serving the elderly" and providing a "continuum of care," attorney Cliff Ashburner, who represented the Masonic Home at the hearing, said. "Assisted living is the middle step."
No additional access was requested for either project, but attorney Bissell Roberts, who represented St. Matthews at the hearing, stated the city's continued opposition to providing more access through four streets on the east side leading to Chenoweth Lane.
"The Masonic Home has kept adding all these people," Roberts said at the hearing. Echoing the sentiment of some residents, too, Roberts said the city doesn't want home officials to come back later and say the addition of more facilities and more people justifies additional access. The home has full access through only its main entrance at 3701 Frankfort, with only emergency access allowed through Washington Square, one of the four streets.
Former Jefferson County Judge-Executive Todd Hollenbach, who lives on Washington Square, also reminded the commission that the outcome of a legal appeal involving access could have an affect on the situation, saying it's "critically important" to take that into account.
In July 2014, the Metro Planning Commission denied the Masonic Home's request for more access through Washington Square, Ormond Road and Leland and Elmwood avenues. The home, which has long sought additional access on the east side of the campus after selling off property on the north side for the Mockingbird Gardens subdivision, appealed the decision, and the case is pending in Jefferson Circuit Court.
At Thursday's hearing, a last minute change announced to forego hooking into a sewer line on Elmwood Avenue in St. Matthews for The Meadow project appeased residents who were opposed to the idea, including Julie Leake, who lives on Elmwood. She had planned to speak against the plan, saying there was already a "long history" of sewer problems on the street but thanked the Masonic Home instead.
MSD representatives said at the hearing that the line will be repaired regardless after Masonic Home representatives said an older pumping station on its campus would be moved and repaired so that the sewer line would go to Frankfort Avenue instead. The Grove Pointe project also will tie into a line going to Frankfort.
Tracy Evans, who lives on Ormond Road, also questioned whether everyone was notified adequately about the hearing, and commission chairman Vince Jarboe said the metro planning department should try to resolve the confusion. Evans said she doesn't oppose the home's mission, but "I want to protect the neighborhood from being detrimentally affected" now and in the future, if plans change.
Ralph Haeberlin, who lives on Elmwood, said looking down the road, he doesn't want the home "coming at us again" with more requests for greater access.
The home will need to go back to the Metro Board of Zoning Adjustment for additional approval of a few changes made to the plans after a modified conditional use permit was approved Feb. 1, as a result of questions raised by St. Matthews zoning officer Jack Ruf.
Grove Pointe will replace the historic St. John's Day League Infirmary building, which will be demolished, except for a few elements that will be saved. The front portico with columns will be moved to a site near The Olmsted event hall on the campus, as a place for weddings and other gatherings.
The St. John's building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, dates to about 1927, when the original Masonic Widows and Orphans Home moved from Old Louisville to the Frankfort Avenue site. A 30-day waiting period for a wrecking permit has expired.
New parking is planned for both projects, and a landscape buffer waiver involving a utility easement also was approved for The Meadow project. A height variance also was approved earlier to allow a maximum of 45 feet rather than 35.
The aim is to start construction on The Meadow at the end of 2017 and six months later on — Grove Pointe, with the intent of having both open in 2018, Candler said.
The Meadow will add to the independent living options available at the relatively new Mirealea complex on the campus. There's a waiting list for the Miralea and more than 200 people have already expressed interest in The Meadow, Candler said.
The Mirealea has been "phenomenally successful," Ashburner said.
Reporter Martha Elson can be reached at 502-582-7061 and [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @MarthaElson_cj.