The Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen approved the proposal of Friendship Village Senior Living Sunset Hills for a 28-bed expansion to its memory care unit on May 13.
Per Terry Walsh, president and CEO of Friendship Village and the executive director of the Sunset Hills campus, this expansion is greatly needed as “today the current memory care unit is 100% sold and 95% occupied, with people waiting to get in.”
The two-story addition to the current facilities — located at 12563 Village Circle Drive near the intersection of Kennerly and Weber Hill roads — will be constructed atop what is currently a parking lot. Due to this, new and expanded parking is necessary to accommodate not only the parking spaces lost, but also for the new staff and family of the residents in the soon-to-be bigger memory care unit to utilize.
The new parking will be added on the western side of the Friendship Village property.
The somewhat divisive decision to approve Friendship Village’s request came after a wave of opposition seen at the board’s April 22 meeting. Many of the community members who spoke, the majority residing in the Pointe Drive subdivision, voiced concerns about the removal of trees and shrubbery, replacing their homes’ current green views with a view of the new parking lot.
To ease tensions, the heads of Friendship Village met with residents of the subdivision.
“All of the items that the residents requested, we accommodated, except for one, which was relocating the expanded parking lot altogether to an area on the campus that is not conducive to having a parking lot because it would require about a 25-foot tall retaining wall,” Walsh said. “The maintenance that would go along with that would be about a $1 million, $2 million expense that I would have to impose on the residents who live in Friendship Village just to move that proposed parking lot.”
He added that Friendship Village has every intention to continue making sure that the green space looks nice for its own residents as well as its neighbors.
Before the bill passed, Ward 4 Alderman Fred Daues took the floor to share his thoughts as this project is in his ward, directly affecting his constituents.
“This is the beginning of my third term as an alderman,” Daues said. “During that time, there’s been some tough votes – none tougher than this. The points made by both The Pointe and Friendship Village are legitimate and accurate. As I’ve tried to come to my decision on my responsibilities as your alderman, it’s clear to me that I need to represent the citizens of my ward. Kind of obvious, but still clear. However, I also must represent the interest of the city at large and of the residents of the city in whole.”
With that, he moved to recommend approval with the following conditions: no vinyl fencing shall be installed as part of the type C buffer, as depicted on the plan; new parking berm shall be a minimum of four feet above the surface of the new parking lot; a total of nine, eight-foot trees will be planted at the top of the berm, as depicted on the landscape plan; a swale approved by MSD to direct water from the berm away from the neighbors’ property as depicted in the landscape plan shall be maintained by Friendship Village; minimal use of a back gate only for large construction deliveries; and to instruct the general contractor and also communicate to his subcontractors that they are to minimize mud tracked on the street and will clean up daily as required.
The motion was seconded, though before a vote was held, Ward 4 Alderman Lindsay Hof spoke, thanking her constituents for participating so actively.
“Civic engagement is essential to how we grow and how we evolve as a community,” Hof said. “Your willingness to share thoughtful feedback, whether you’ve been in support or opposition of this matter, is deeply valued. I hope this experience encourages you to remain involved because it’s important that we have open dialogue and collaboration as we build a stronger Sunset Hills together.”
The board then held a vote, passing the bill unanimously.
