Approval given to west side senior living facility

Aug. 17--A 20-unit senior living facility on the city's west side received a needed approval this week from the Kokomo City Plan Commission.

The development, which will be located at 3109 W. Sycamore St., had already received rezoning approval from the Kokomo Common Council, and this week it received unanimous development plan approval from Plan Commission members.

It was the project's final needed government approval.

The project comprises a nearly 5-acre area targeted for an 11,000-square-foot, one-story facility slated to have 20 one-bedroom apartments.

Construction is expected to start this fall.

Appearing before the Plan Commission was Paul Wyman, in his capacity as principal broker of the Wyman Group. Wyman is the project's realtor; property records show Honey Comb Holdings LLC purchased the property on July 26 for $237,500.

Honey Comb Holdings LLC has a Russiaville address, and the registered agent is listed as Brett Cain.

The West Sycamore Street property's previous owner was Ascension St. Vincent. Records, in fact, show the property in the early 2000s was owned by disgraced doctors Don and Marilyn Wagoner.

"It's a very unique senior living facility, meaning it's not an institutionalized one, meaning that the people will have their own private apartments but [also] common areas of living rooms and those sorts of things. And these folks will come and go to this senior living facility," said Wyman in previous comments about what will be a roughly $2.5 million investment and create around 15 jobs.

"The reality of this senior living facility is they will be providing this place to live all the way up to the first stages of when they would need assisted living," he added, noting residents will be provided transportation but can also have their own vehicles.

"So it really is a true senior living facility."

BeeHive Homes -- which says on its website that it offers "long-term and respite care that combines housing, assistance with daily activities, and health care services as needed" -- will be a franchise to Cain, who will run the facility.

Wyman has also said the facility will include "smaller apartments" and be "a big family-type atmosphere" with communal spaces like a kitchen and living area.

Also speaking to Plan Commission members this week was Elaine Phelps, with 40th Parallel Surveying, which completed the project's site, or development, plan.

Phelps noted that the project has a second-phase plan that could include a "proposed Alzheimer's unit" to the south of the senior living facility. It would also be an 11,000-square-foot facility with 20 rooms.

Wyman confirmed that the second phase would be a "memory care" facility for Alzheimer's and dementia patients. He said there is no timeline in place for the possible second-building expansion.

The Plan Commission's approval this week included the plans for both phases.

TIF District

Plan Commission members also unanimously moved forward a TIF, or tax increment financing, district that will cover the incoming $86 million Championship Park, including its athletic fields and the private development east of the park.

The TIF district will next be reviewed by the Common Council on Aug. 26.

A TIF district is a specific geographic area where property tax revenue raised on new assessed value is captured by the city's Redevelopment Commission for investment in the TIF area.

In essence, the property value of real estate within the TIF district at the time the district is established is considered the area's base value; everything over that is then captured by the RDC and used on economic development or other projects or funding inside the TIF district.

In this case, the revenue will be used to make debt service payments on the city's Championship Park bonds.

The council this week passed on first reading an ordinance issuing $9 million in bonds to finance the costs of constructing four high-school-sized baseball and softball fields, along with four Little League fields. Included are concession stands, restrooms and parking.

George Myers can be reached at 765-454-8585, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @gmyerskt.

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