News

Waveny LifeCare Network Unveils Proposal for 150-Unit Senior Living Community at ‘Mulch Pile’ Site

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club. Waveny LifeCare Network  or “WLN,” the nonprofit organization that operates a short- and long-term rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility and memory assisted living residence on Farm Road, an independent living facility on Oenoke Ridge and an adult day program, among other services, last week unveiled plans for a new 150-unit senior living community on town-owned within at Waveny through a long-term land lease agreement. (WLN’s Farm Road campus is also currently leased from the town.)
Presented July 15 to the Town Council as the beginning of what WLN leaders described as a public conversation—not a request for approval regarding the development—plans call for use of approximately 20 acres of the 50-acre “Parcel E,” known by many residents as the “mulch pile” area west of Lapham Road. Those presenting the proposal included WLN President and CEO Russ Barksdale Jr. and Board of Directors members Rich Townsend and Mark DeWaele. (Town Council member Penny Young recused herself from the discussion because she also serves on the WLN board.)

The location offers the best opportunity to address what they described as a longstanding shortage of senior housing while minimizing impacts to the park, they said.

News

Waveny Soon to Debut New Fitness Area, New Playground Planned for Next Summer

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. The construction of a widely anticipated addition to one of New Canaan’s most popular parks is underway. 

Earlier this year, town officials approved a $100,000 contract for the installation of a new fitness area in Waveny Park. 

The new fitness equipment, dubbed ‘The Gladiator’ by its manufacturer, is geared for people ages 13 and up, according to Ryan Restivo, assistant superintendent of the New Canaan Parks Department. 

It will have 12 stations including a larger component called “Thrive 250.” 

According to Restivo, the Thrive 250 has special QR code signs which, when using a phone to scan, provide a link to fitness instructions and workout plans. 

“There’s some step-by-step online workouts, so that’s a really cool feature,” Restivo said. 

The fitness area is to be resurfaced with a material called ‘Poured-in-Place Surfacing’ which Restivo said “is the best ADA compliant surfacing.” 

The Poured-in-Place Surfacing is what was used in the hugely successful and popular Mead Park Playground, he said. (Restivo is working with a committee that includes Monica Capela, who co-founded the Friends of Mead Park Playground with Allyson Mahoney, as well as Lauren Connolly Nussbaum and Hilary Ormond.)

“It’s like a spongy material and it comes in all different colors,” Restivo said of the surface. “The color that we chose was a tan and black and it blends in well with the site.” 

This type of surfacing has many advantages, Restivo said. 

“It’s the number one accessible surface, it’s safe and durable, it’s shock absorbent for fall protection, and it’s low maintenance and aesthetically pleasing, he said. This new material replaces the woodchips used in the old fitness area. 

The Parks Department has already received the new fitness equipment but due to minor issues on the part of the manufacturers, the installation has been slightly delayed. 

“One of the posts had a manufacturer issue,” Restivo said.

Bill Oestmann

Town Approves $62,000 Contract to Repair Gazebo in Waveny

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The Board of Selectmen last week approved a $62,100 contract with a Ridgefield-based company to repair the gazebo in Waveny Park. The company, Alden Bailey, has all supplies in stock to do the work, according to Bill Oestmann, superintendent of buildings in the Department of Public Works. The gazebo’s roof needs repair “and the structure itself is needing a little cleaning up,” Oestmann told the selectmen at their Aug. 23 meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. “Kids over the years have done a little vandalism to it,” Oestmann said.