Developer wants to convert former Blair Manor nursing home into apartments

Apr. 28—ENFIELD — About 3 1/2 years after a judge ordered the closure of the Blair Manor nursing home on Hazard Avenue, a local developer has come forward with plans to turn the nearly 8.4-acre property into apartments.

Local developer and property owner Meadow Manor LLC has submitted plans to the Planning and Zoning Commission to convert the former nursing home at 612 Hazard Ave. into a 43-unit apartment complex consisting of mostly one- and two-bedroom apartments. Plans include having a fitness room at the complex, an expansion of the parking lot, and a new drainage system.

According to the plans, the existing building on the property would be used in creating the apartments. New windows and doors would be installed for each unit, the amount of parking would increase from 69 to 97 spaces, and landscaping improvements would be made.

PROPOSAL

DEVELOPER: Meadow Manor LLC

WHAT: Submitted plans to convert the former Blair Manor nursing home property in Enfield into a 43-unit apartment complex

NEXT STEP: A public hearing regarding on the proposal is tentatively scheduled for the Planning and Zoning Commission's next meeting on May 13.

Director of Development Services Lauren Whitten said the proposal could receive approval from the Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Agency as early as at its next meeting on May 4.

At the last PZC meeting, Meadow Manor LLC submitted an application to change the zoning of the property from residential-44 to a special development district, a classification was created to enable the reuse or rehabilitation of vacant, deteriorating or underutilized buildings in town.

"We're always glad to see an empty and vacant site get used," Town Manager Christopher Bromson said.

The zone change application would require that a public hearing be held on the matter, and that could take place as early as the PZC's next meeting on May 13, Whitten said.

"Once they get that zone change, then they can move forward," Whitten said.

A traffic study associated with the proposal has already been completed by F. A. Hesketh and Associates Inc., and an environmental review was done by One Earth Environmental LLC. Both found no issues with the proposed development.

The property has been vacant since 2017. For 50 years prior it served as the Blair Manor nursing home until it was ordered closed by a Hartford Superior Court judge in November 2017 after being in state receivership. A year earlier the owner, Cheshire-based Affinity Healthcare Management Inc., had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

This decision to close the facility was made despite the many objections from Blair Manor employees and residents' family members who felt the process was unfair and pre-determined.

The judge's decision to close the nursing home left its 57 residents in need of finding new homes, and 17 of them died after leaving the facility, with some family members, nurses, and an expert telling the Journal Inquirer at the time that the stress of relocating played a role in some of the deaths.

Adam covers the towns of Enfield and Suffield. For more updates, follow Adam on Twitter: @AHushinJI and Facebook: Adam Hushin.

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