Building a senior living center in Belmont has been a goal of the Park Street United Methodist Church congregation for six years, but city zoning challenges continue to block progress on the project.
The church’s plans conflict with city leaders’ efforts to restrict new apartment development to the Wilkinson Boulevard corridor, and their opposition to buildings of more than three stories. Zoning changes are required to allow the project known as Arbor Mill at Park Street to go forward.
The church property on which the senior living center would be built is about half a mile from Wilkinson Boulevard, and the developer the church is working with on the project needs a four-story building to achieve the 100 units required to make the center financially feasible.
Park Street UMC Pastor David Hiatt briefed members of the Belmont Rotary Club on the plan and the obstacles encountered during a recent meeting.
He said gaining approval to build the senior living center is critical for the church’s financial future, because leasing the land to the developer of the center would generate a large percentage of the church’s annual income.
“The old model of passing the collection plate to pay for everything a church needs is coming to a close,” Rev. Hiatt told Rotarians.
The pastor said that after years of delay and a huge financial investment, it’s now urgent for the church to resolve the issues and move forward on the project. Noting there are other four-story buildings, including apartments, within a short distance from the church, he encouraged club members and other Belmont residents to contact city officials in support of the Arbor Mill at Park Street senior living center.
“To take the next step, a very big check must be written, so we need to engage people in the community and ask for their support,” he said.
For more than 100 years, Park Street United Methodist Church has occupied one of East Belmont’s most prominent corners at the intersection of Park and Catawba streets. In 2018, church members began to consider how land owned by the church could be used to benefit the community and the church, Hiatt said.
“Growing discipleship through relationships is the church motto,” he said. “And that means relationships with God, with people and with the community.”
In group discussions about the best use of land surrounding the sanctuary and family life center, serving senior citizens quickly became a focus. The church already has several programs serving seniors, including a “Young At Heart” ministry, a fitness program for older people and a weekly free-lunch program in which many senior citizens participate.
The congregation turned to Wesley Community Development, an affiliate of the United Methodist Church of Western, North Carolina, which helps churches determine how to utilize their property to serve both the church and the community. After months of discussion and study, building a senior living center became the goal, and the church began working with Ridge Care Senior Living of Kernersville. Ridge Care owns several independent living and assisted living centers in North Carolina.
The plan is for the church to retain ownership of the property and enter into a long-term lease to Ridge Care.
“We don’t want to lose control of the property,” Hiatt said.
In his comments to Rotarians, Hiatt said when Belmont senior citizens become unable to live on their own, they have no option but to leave their hometown. The independent living center the church hopes to build would provide seniors studio, one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartments, three meals a day, weekly housekeeping, transportation to medical appointments, planned activities, social and wellness programming and more.
There would be no costly buy-in requirements and no long-term leases. The expected monthly rate would be around $3,750, Hiatt said.
“While the facility would be for people 55 and older, the average age at Ridge Care Senior Living Centers is 84,” he said. “Few of the residents at other Ridge Care senior living centers have cars, so parking and increased traffic are not issues.”
The proposed building is L-shaped and would front on Catawba Street, with an 8-foot sidewalk and a planting strip along the street to provide a visual buffer, according to printed material and a website on the Arbor Mill at Park Street project. Hiatt also said the fourth story of the building would be set back from the third to avoid a cold, monolithic feel.
For more photos and more information on Arbor Mill at Park Street, visit ridgecare.com/belmont.
About Rotary:
Rotary is an international service organization with 1.4 million members in more than 200 countries. “Service Above Self” is the Rotary motto. Rotarians work together to promote peace, fight disease, support education, grow local economies and protect the environment.
Belmont Rotary Club, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025, meets for lunch and a program on local topics each Wednesday, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church in Belmont. Guests interested in learning more about local businesses and issues and how Rotary serves the community are welcome. For more information, visit belmontrotaryclub.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Proposed senior living center in Belmont faces obstacles
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