The City of Bowling Green will see a new state-of-the-art nursing home development in the future, replacing the two existing, dated facilities.
Bowling Green city council passed Ordinance 8486 Tuesday, which annexed roughly 30 acres of land owned by HCF Reality of BG. The land is to be used for a new nursing home facility. HCF currently owns Bowling Green Manor and Bowling Green Care Center, which will both be moving to the new location. The city Planning Commission held a public hearing for the annexation Jan. 6 and passed the positive recommendation to the council.
Councilman Bruce Jeffers first moved to adopt the new legislation.
“This particular project, I think, is nothing but desirable,” Jeffers said.
He said some members of the community have questioned and been concerned with the annexation policy.
“The leaders of the city government are considering this issue, trying to get a good handle on when we look into developments. Are they really beneficial to everybody concerned?” Jeffers said.
Jeffers referenced the city’s Master Plan, which lists questions city officials should ask when taking annexation into account. He said officials are taking the right issues into consideration.
“As we think about our goals in the Master Plan, and our goals to develop the core in the city, we do want to continue to push for that, but we do it in smart ways that certainly take our utilities into account as well,” Jeffers said.
He said city officials have also taken into account the cost-benefit analysis, which he found to also be favorable to the city.
The location of the new facility is also favorable, according to Jeffers. The 30 acres is located in Plain Township, right next to the Bowling Green Community Center.
“I think as we think about likable places to go, this creates a much broader destination,” Jeffers said.
He said those visiting nursing home residents could use the community center while in town and development of a bike path into the city from the community center is already underway.
“It’s not our place to decide how much capacity we need in the city as far as nursing homes, but this company believes this would be a good project, and I think personally that I’ll probably have friends who live there and it will be a nice place to visit,” Jeffers said. “I also think that there’s a good chance that I might live there someday, and so I’d like to have a nice facility in my community for that purpose.”
Council member Sandy Rowland shared reason to believe the new facility would be beneficial as well.
“I’m probably the oldest person sitting here…so I have a keen interest in having a new building,” Rowland said. “Having visited and having family in the two nursing homes in town that are owned by HCF, there is definitely need for new construction and a state-of-the-art facility.”
Councilman Robert McOmber had his left knee replaced in late November, spending 11 days at the Bowling Green Manor. He said while the staff were wonderful and he started helpful rehab, it was clear that the facility was dated.
“Just common sense from what I saw from the almost two weeks that I was out there tells me building a new state-of-the-art facility out there by the community center strikes me as probably a good move,” McComber said.
Rowland said HCF Management as a company is also favorable because the HCF representative at the public hearing made it clear that the two current buildings will not be left as a burden to the city.
Instead, HCF will take action to find a responsible buyer. If no appropriate buyers come forth, rather than selling to an unfit buyer, HCF will personally demolish the buildings.
