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Promenade Middletown presents memory-care expansion and day program; planning board hears preliminary proposal, no action taken
Summary
Promenade Middletown representatives presented a preliminary plan to add memory-care capacity and a community day program at 60–78 Fulton Street. The board discussed parking, fire-truck access and required architectural review; no vote was taken at the Jan. 8 meeting.
Promenade Middletown representatives presented a preliminary expansion plan at the City of Middletown Planning Board’s Jan. 8 meeting, describing a project that would add memory-care facilities and a day program while not increasing overnight bed capacity. The board received the presentation and took no action; staff and board members identified items to address during formal application review.
Steven Laufer, a Promenade representative, said the facility serves many Middletown residents and that about 75% of Promenade employees live in the city. Laufer said the project aims to provide memory-care services and an on-site day program so residents with Alzheimer’s or dementia could be retained rather than discharged when their needs escalate.
Promenade’s team described two additions: a smaller two-story front addition (about 2,000 square feet per floor for roughly 4,200 square feet total across floors) for resident rooms and a larger one-story, approximately 9,500-square-foot rear addition intended primarily for memory-care functions and public activity spaces, including courtyards, dining areas and an entrance for the day program.
“Correct. We’re actually not adding any additional beds,” Laufer said when asked whether overnight capacity would increase; the team said the project would convert some assisted-living rooms to memory care and add front-facing resident rooms, producing a net reduction in overnight rooms but allowing the facility to serve memory-care patients.
Board members and the fire department raised access concerns for emergency apparatus to the rear addition. Michael Guattari, the fire department representative, said that as proposed the rear access “would be difficult” for apparatus and emphasized the need to review turning radii and secure a complete truck turnaround if needed. Promenade’s presenters said their civil engineer had identified space to provide a turnaround and that they would coordinate with the fire chief and engineer to resolve access requirements.
Parking was also discussed. Promenade representatives said the site currently contains about 78 parking spaces and that zoning requires one space per five patients; presenters said the site was generally “way over parked” relative to that standard. They also said the project team could reconfigure parking to accommodate emergency access and compliance with requirements; a preliminary figure of 117 proposed spaces was mentioned in the discussion as part of future design work.
The board reminded Promenade that the property is in the city’s DMU (Downtown Mixed Use) zone and that the applicant will need to appear before the Architectural Review Board with detailed material and elevation information as part of a full submission. The applicant was also asked to address outstanding comments from the city’s consulting reviewer (CPL) as part of a formal application package.
No action was taken at the meeting; the presentation was accepted as preliminary and the board requested more detailed plans, engineering documentation for fire-vehicle access, response to CPL comments and formal architectural elevations for subsequent review.
