Senior Residential Facility Approved at Former Mia’s Nursery Property

The property formerly inhabited by Mia’s Nursery will be razed to make way for a three-story, 75 unit senior residential facility which is planned to break ground this Spring.

The Palatine Village Council approved the planned development after requirements for additional parking and landscape buffering for nearby residences were met by Chicago-based CRL Senior Living Communities.

Zoning for the 1.98 acres of property at 874 and 896 N. Quentin Road also was changed to accommodate the proposed 65,000 square foot facility.  

Privacy for residents whose backyards back up to the development was one issue CRL was required to address.

“I want to make sure we take care of our residents who have been living there for years,” said District 1 Village Council member Aaron Del Mar.

A five to six foot wrought iron-style fence made of powder-coated aluminum will provide a divider between the facility and the backyards of residents who live on Franklin Street, said Michael Samuels, director of development and general counsel for CRL.

A memory garden is planned in the space between the two properties, which Samuels said won’t have much activity because most residents will be in their 80s and 90s. The company also increased the number of arbor vitae tree plantings to provide an additional barrier.

The row of plantings which will run the length of the property aims to provide screening and landscape buffering to respect the privacy of the adjacent property owners, Samuels said.

Samuels told the council the trees will be up to six feet high when planted and will reach as high as 12 feet in a few years.

Parking for visitors during peak holidays such as Mother’s Day and Christmas was another stipulation the company adhered to.

Though Samuels said additional parking will not be needed based on statistics from other CRL facilities, an agreement has been negotiated to utilize parking spaces at Golf Nation, 399 N. Quentin Road, if needed. Another agreement is pending with the owner of the Quentin Corners parking lot at the intersection of Northwest Highway and Quentin Road.

Shuttle services to the senior residential facility would be provided by CRL if additional parking needs to be utilized.

Resident concerns about water run-off into nearby properties was addressed by company engineers, who created a plan to reroute water away from neighboring residences.

The development will include a mix of single and double occupancy rooms with a total of 105 beds. The single occupancy will include a bath, while the double will be a suite-style room with one bathroom that can accommodate two beds or one bed for married couples.  

On each floor, there will be one large common area living room in addition to a couple smaller ones for structured activities, according to Samuels.

A dining room also will be on each of the three floors, with a food preparation kitchen on the main floor.

Between now and the Spring of 2012, CRL will be completing their building plans, development agreements and submitting documentation for building permits.

“Our goal is to start demolition of the former Mia’s Nursery building in early Spring and construction of the facility would follow soon after,” Samuels said.

CRL has 16 other properties in Illinois and Wisconsin, with a total of 1,300 beds.

The most recent Illinois development was recently completed in Morton Grove, and the company just broke ground on a Highland Park facility.