Care Facility Proposed For Vonage Site Gets First Look In Holmdel

HOLMDEL, NJ — Holmdel residents got their first glimpse of plans for a continuing care retirement community that is proposed for the Vonage site on Monday at the Holmdel Township Committee meeting, a proposal some say does not align with the town’s master plan.

The continuing care retirement community that CHA Partners is proposing would hold 300 residential units, according to the plans presented on Monday.

The community would consist of the existing building at the site, as well as three-story assisted living/memory care/skilled nursing buildings and two-story cottages.

A continuing care retirement community offers residents access to graduated levels of care based on their needs as they age, according to AARP.

There was no vote taken on the project at Monday night's meeting.

Here’s what you need to know about the potential concept for the future of the Vonage site:

What The Facility Would Include
CHA Managing Partner Bill Colgan, CHA Partner Joe Kelley and CHA Development Associate Scott Barkley attended Monday night's meeting and led the presentation.

As explained by Colgan, the proposed facility would allow seniors to live in one location throughout every stage of life, including: senior living, assisted living, memory care, short term rehabilitation and skilled nursing.

The community would be built in phases if approved, according to Colgan, and take approximately three to four years to complete.

At Monday’s meeting, Colgan said the facility would include:

• 210 units of Senior Living
• 60 units of Assisted Living / Memory Care
• 30 units of Short Term Rehabilitation Skilled Nursing
• Public-use incorporated into amenity space designs (i.e. pickleball courts)
• Public-use walking trails

Alongside the facility’s amenities, Colgan also said the proposed project would have a headcount of 540 people (both residents and employees) and 480 parking spaces, which could mean a significant decrease in traffic volume.

According to Colgan, the facility will preserve the existing buffer off of Holmdel Road and Main Street, and host enhanced stormwater management with 100% on-site containment.

During the meeting, Colgan also discussed CHA donating a portion of the property back to the Township to potentially build an emergency response center. According to the concept presentation, the donated land would be approximately five acres.

Resident Concerns
Following CHA Partners’ presentation, the Township Committee opened the floor for the public to ask questions about the proposed facility.

Multiple attendees expressed their concerns about the project, with questions ranging from the facility’s aesthetics, to potential traffic increases, to strain on the town’s sewage maintenance.

In regards to sewage management, Colgan said one of the reasons they scaled down the project was in response to examining the capacity of the sewer treatment facility.

When CHA initially came up with a concept for the community, Colgan said they began with over 450 units. After receiving feedback from community members, CHA scaled the project down to the minimum (approximately 300 units).

Since the concept has been scaled down, Colgan confirmed that the sewer treatment facility can handle the proposed project without any significant changes to the current design.

Another resident expressed concern about demand for continued care communities, and asked how "locked down" the proposed units would be in order to prevent rentals.

According to Colgan, CHA conducted a feasibility study prior to continuing with the project that determined a present need for the proposed community. Colgan said that Holmdel was of particular interest to CHA due to the town’s social economics, and that Holmdel lends itself “much better” to a for-sale product compared to a rental product.

According to Colgan, CHA would imagine the senior living portion of the facility to be the for-sale model of the project.

In response to CHA's feasibility study, one resident questioned if the study took into consideration senior living residences not yet open in Holmdel, such as Brightview Senior Living.

"If you were to open just a skilled-nursing facility in the area, you'll find it's over-bedded and it's not feasible," Colgan said. "If you were to open just assisted living, you'll find that it's over-bedded and not feasible in the Holmdel area."

In contrast, Colgan said that the kind of senior care CHA is proposing begins with independent living and would make up 70 percent of the facility.

As residents need more assistance and care, they would be able to move to the assisted living and skilled nursing care portions of the facility. Those portions would not be seeking residents to fill rooms when the facility opens.

Organizations outside of Monday night's meeting expressed concerns for the project as well.

In a written statement to Patch, President of Citizens for Informed Land Use (CILU) Julie Roth said that the proposed project is "not consistent" with Holmdel's Master Plan.

"Holmdel must send a message to developers that heavily investing in properties not currently zoned for their desired purpose is unwise," Roth said. "Our elected officials and governing boards have a duty to honor the commitment made decades ago to protect Holmdel's category one streams (and thus our drinking water) by only permitting appropriate development in the area."

"The proposed project is not consistent with Holmdel's Master Plan," Roth continued. "Or the recommendations of the Ad-Hoc Redevelopment and Economic Development Committee and would have dangerous long-term ramifications in terms of precedent."

Though Holmdel residents took to the floor to express their concerns at Monday night's meeting, the Township Committee assured attendees that this is the first of many meetings regarding the future of the former Vonage site.

According to Holmdel Township Administrator Jay Delaney, the redevelopment is still in the earlier stages of the process.

"No formal designation of a redeveloper has been made," Delaney said in an email to Patch. "Nor has the property been designated as a redevelopment site."

In response to the property owner's request and a referral from the Township Committee, Delaney said the Holmdel Township Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing on July 30 to determine if the property should be designated as an area in need of redevelopment.

To read our previous coverage of the Vonage site's potential redevelopment, you can read more here.

To view CHA's redevelopment concept for the site, you can view the presentation on the Holmdel Township website.

To hear more from Monday night's meeting, you can watch the recorded version through Holmdel Township's Facebook page.