Construction of Rivers of Grosse Pointe Imminent

Just shy of a one-year deadline given by council, within a few weeks, according to Lorenzo Cavaliere.

Cavaliere would not put an exact date on the start of construction before the Grosse Pointe Woods council Monday but said the start would meet the city's one-year deadline as outlined during the project's approval last June.

Questions about the construction start date surfaced after the council voted to not object to several site plan changes the developers, architects and engineers have made to the original plans, which went before council for approval.

The changes include:

• the reduction of the nursing/assisted living portion of the main building from three stories to two (the independent living building will remain three stories)
• the reduction of single bedroom indenpendent living suites from 51 to 19
• the increase of double bedroom independent living suites from 28 to 53
• a reduction in nursing home beds
• a reduction in parking from 252 to 242 spaces

While the overall square footage is being reduced by 36,000 square-feet, the footprint of the building is actually increasing by 6,000 square-feet, according to Jordan London, one of the architects. The building is still within the proper set back requirements from the street, he said.

Rather than approve the site plan changes per typical policy on such development, the council voted unanimously to not object to the changes. The changes were not significant enough to require the developers to go back to the planning commission for their approval but city officials believed council members should be made aware before the changes were implemented as construction is imminent.

Cavaliere, who is the director of development for Riverview Health, explained the changes to the building were based on market conditions and feedback from residents in the area. Additionally, they gathered information from other professionals in the same field about operations, he explained.

The reduction of the skilled nursing/assisted living portion of the building will actually allow more efficient operations by employees, Cavaliere said, giving the example of shared equipment and work spaces.

The retirement village will feature independent living units, assisted living and skilled nursing arrangements in addition to some separate cottages that will be on the grounds but not attached to the main buildings. For more information, visit the Rivers of Grosse Pointe website.

Demolition of the former Children's Home of Detroit will be necessary before construction can begin on the retirement village. Construction in the area is not limited to this project. .

Residents nearby had originally expressed concern that the retirement village would bring more traffic to an already heavily traveled area often congested at school dismissal time because of the proximity of to . 

A few nearby residents spoke Monday but asked clarification questions about the site plan changes, including whether the new footprint of the building would remain beyond set back lines.