Plans Unveiled for Senior Living Complex

A Florida-based senior living developer has unveiled their plans to build a senior living development on the former Riverbrook Restaurant site.  

Harbor Retirement Associates appeared before the Shorewood Plan Commission Tuesday night to share their plans for a 96-unit senior living complex on the 3.1 acre site between the Milwaukee River and the Oak Leaf Trail.

Nearest Capitol Drive, on the west end of the site is a four-story building containing 60 residential care units. On the east end, A circular driveway with 11 parking stalls connects to a one-story building featuring the main lobby, dining room and 36 memory care units for seniors suffering of Alzheimer’s or other memory disorders.

In addition to the 11 parking stalls near Capitol Drive, a future access road at the far west end of the site would contain 10 parking stalls on the south ed of the site and a ramp to 55 covered parking stalls. Shorewood Village Manager Chris Swartz said he would like the village-owned road west of the bike path to be removed because it is not used.

The Plan Commission will revisit the senior living proposal twice more before making a recommendation to the Village Board. Swartz said the process could be completed in September or October.

"We like to create a design that makes them feel welcome, that gives them a sense of arrival when they enter our community for the first time," he said. "Hopefully it makes that decision process a little less fearful and a little less traumatic for both the parent and the adult children that are helping them make the decision."

This is the third time a senior living complex has been proposed at this site. Pathway Senior Living scrapped its plans for a senior housing development  last year. Four years earlier, a senior living proposal came from Sunrise Senior Living Inc.

With senior living centers in 17 communities across the country, Jennings said he sees a demand for senior living in the Shorewood area and expects 70 percent of future residents to come from a five-mile radius.