FARMINGTON — The Planning Board will get its first presentation Monday night about the Woodlands Senior Living 36-bed memory care center planned for Knowlton Corner Road.
Waterville-based Woodlands Senior Living, which operates 12 residences in Maine, plans to build the $4 million care center for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia on a 38-acre site. Matthew Walters, an owner of the company, said the residence would be the only one of its kind in the Farmington area and would generate 30 jobs.
The board, which meets at 6 p.m., will not be taking action on the project. It expects to review a full project application on Aug. 8.
Selectmen this month approved the terms of a tax increment financing agreement with Woodlands under which the town would reimburse 100 percent of incremental tax revenue to the company for 10 years. While selectmen agreed on the terms, the town’s entering into TIF agreements is subject to voter approval.
Town Manager Richard Davis said a special town meeting is scheduled tentatively for July 26 so residents can vote on the agreement.
In April, when Walters first requested the 10-year TIF, selectmen tabled the issue, saying they thought that length of time at 100 percent was too long. However, after touring the Woodlands assisted living center in Lewiston and hearing more about the value the project would bring to Farmington, selectmen agreed to accept the terms as presented, Davis said.
“(Selectmen) were very, very impressed. It’s a top-notch operation,” Davis said of the Lewiston residence. “The town is content to be patient in terms of the tax revenue.”
Walters, who owns the company with his father, Lon, said the company has asked for shorter TIF agreements with other towns where they have built residences, but because of how undeveloped the plot they are buying in Farmington is, development and construction costs will be higher, so a longer TIF would blunt some of the upfront costs.
However, Walters said a big factor in choosing the plot of land is the possibility of further development beyond the initial $4 million project. He said it is likely that a second phase of development would occur, possibly in the form of an apartment-style care center on the Farmington site.
“One of the reasons we chose the site we chose was because we had the ability to expand,” he said. “The second phase would be a development that would serve the senior population that needs assistance with daily activities.”
Walters hopes to close on the land purchase and break ground on the project by late August. The construction is anticipated to take a year, and if all stays on track, he expects the residence to open in late summer of next year.
Lauren Abbate can be contacted at 861-9252 or at:
labbate@centralmaine.com
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