The prospective construction of the Continuing Care Retirement Community on the grass lot located on Stimson Avenue has caused a mixed outcry from Athens residents, even though the project is still in its earlier stages of research.
The retirement community has not been officially approved by National Church Residences, the company that might build the development, said NCR spokesman Patrick Higgins.
Ohio University spokesman Jack Jeffery said OU has given the NCR a 90-day window to secure their finances and determine if the market will support a retirement community. If approved, OU will set the lease price at $1.
We feel that the retirement facility will be good for the community. Faculty retirees really have something to offer
and we'd like to make sure they can stay involved with Athens he said. This will also bring at least 25 new jobs to Athens.
Jeffery said OU does not want to hinder the retirement community's development, so it has issued the $1 lease because it is in the best interest of the university and Athens.
Margaret Topping, president of the CCRC's Board of Trustees, said the project is in its preliminary stages and she believes the uproar is from people being misinformed.
The NCR is doing a feasibility study and surveying the areas before they officially decide that they want to come to Athens and build she said.
While NCR would be the contractor for the building of the development, CCRC would operate the retirement community.
Topping said many residents think building in the Stimson Avenue green space will take away one of the few open air places for residents to congregate, including child play areas. But, she said, that is not the case.
If the NCR does decide to build here
the CCRC will make sure that there is plenty of open field space left for the community
she said. The bike paths are not going to be touched and with the tearing down of the Mill Street apartments
there will be plenty of places for kids to play and mothers to walk their babies.
The project is still in its extremely early stages
and nothing official has been laid out, Higgins said.
Many believe that this project is full swing and that's just not the case
he said.
Higgins said the NCR is going through the company's routine tests to see if this project is feasible for them to build in Athens.
The NCR has developed a CCRC in Waverly, Ohio, called Bristol Village.
Our first development was Bristol Village
and it has grown substantially since it first opened in 1961
he said. We've also been seeing a national trend of retirement facilities being built in college communities in order to retain the faculty that are retiring as part of the community
which is one of the things that attracted us to Athens.
The NCR is a national nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing, health care, assisted living and supportive services to modest-income senior citizens and families.
We have over 240 properties in 40 states and Puerto Rico
