On-the-ground work for the proposed Corrales Senior Living complex on what used to be the Sandia View Academy campus is expected to get under way by late summer or early fall.

Developer David Dronet said June 1 his project is near the end of the approval process by the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) agency.

“At present HUD expects the final approval process will be completed within the next three to four months, and if HUD completes its review in that time frame, the project will begin construction in late summer or early fall of this year,” Dronet said.

But Dronet and partner David Abell have thought they might be able to get started several other times in the past 18 months, only to encounter more delays.

Village Councillor Hoyt Hart said April 27 he had been told by Dronet that financing approvals from the federal  agency could come in two to four weeks.

“Dronet said they could get started here in August, plus or minus one month,” Hart said, following a meeting earlier in the day with the developer.

The developer told Corrales Comment June 1 that, “Although HUD is not lending any money to the project, their approval is required before construction can begin, and therefor the project is subject to HUD’s schedule.”

He added, “Once construction begins, one of the very first steps that will be taken will be to install the canal crossing from the property to Loma Larga, as Loma Larga will serve as the main entrance to the property during construction and when the project is operational.

“The timing of the installation of the canal crossing is ultimately governed by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, as they control the canal, and we will continue to work  closely with MRGCD to ensure the canal crossing is installed as early in the construction process as possible.”

The project would raze the old Academy main building along with other minor demolitions, and then construct new facilities to house and care for elderly residents. The project also includes development of a now-vacant area of the Seventh Day Adventists’ property sold to Dronet and a partner.

That area south of the school complex would be independent living units referred to in promotional material for the Dronet project as “The Villas in Corrales.”

The Corrales Senior Living website describes that component of the 22-acre development as follows. “The Villas is a unique community for seniors that provides all of the amenities and services its residents and members desire. Located on a one-of-a-kind 22-acre campus in the heart of Corrales, New Mexico, its residents will have access to concierge services, a bar/lounge, a cafe, a full services restaurant, over two acres of gardens, walking paths, outdoor and rooftop patios, a salon,  computer lounge, transportation services, a banquet hall for events, and a wide variety of activities including fitness, cooking and art classes.

“As the only retirement community of its kind in the State of New Mexico, The Villas will provide independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing services with no entry fee required. Anticipated opening - Spring 2013. Reservations are currently being accepted for both phase 1 and phase 2 of the The Villas.”

On the main part of the old Sandia View Academy, elderly residents requiring more intense care would be housed and treated. Developers have proposed a full-service pharmacy there which could also serve other village residents.

Plans for the large-scale development were approved several years ago by the Corrales Planning and Zoning Commission and accommodations by the Village Council.  But start-up has been delayed repeatedly.

Initially a challenge to the sale of the property to Dronet and partner David Abell slowed project implementation. Then difficulties were encountered meeting requirements for financing imposed by HUD. Once those obstacles were cleared, it still took months of waiting for  HUD approval.

Hart said Dronet told him April 27 he had been informed that Corrales Senior Living was sixth in line for a final HUD decision, and that could come within two to four weeks.

Hart said he understood that the first on-the-ground work will likely be construction of an already-approved bridge over the Corrales Main Canal. That would be the complex’s primary entrance, with access from Loma Larga, not Corrales Road.

The developers have described the project as “a $44 million assisted living, dementia and skilled nursing community.”

More than a year after Dronet and Abell gained permission from the Corrales Planning and Zoning Commission to demolish the main building at the old boarding school, the structure is still standing and boarded up.

As late as last summer, the project was tied up by an incomplete purchase transaction. 

“Sale of the property is still in HUD’s hands,” the Texico Conference of Seventh Day Adventists’ Sean Robinson said in summer 2011. Construction on the Corrales Senior Living complex, then referred to as “The Orchards of Corrales,” had been expected to begin last summer.

Planning and Zoning Administrator Cyndie Tidwell reported in February 2011 the developers needed another approval for lot platting before construction could begin. That was needed to comply with requirements from HUD that were needed for financing.

The requested lot line change separated the townhouse component of the project from the land on which the sewage treatment plant and storm water retention pond will be located.

The housing for “independent living” was scheduled for a second phase of the project by developers. But that phase was expected to be further delayed by three or four years, depending on market conditions, Tidwell added.

The Village Council on October 13, 2009  granted a land use zone change to the developers who want to turn the old Seventh Day Adventist boarding school into an assisted living and skilled nursing complex with an associated “independent living” component on an adjacent 6.5 acres.

The zone change to allow “municipal” land uses (a zoning category changed in summer 2009 to include senior living facilities) on that southerly 6.5 mostly-vacant acres was thought to be the last major hurdle for Corrales Senior Living LLC.

But a lawsuit on sale of the property by the Texico Conference of Seventh Day Adventists dragged on and on.

A site development plan for the entire project was approved by the Corrales Planning and Zoning Commission in 2009. (See Corrales Comment Vol.XXVIII, No.14, September 5, 2009 “High-Density Residential Okayed South of Sandia View Academy” ) The Village Council then approved the M-zone change for the land on which the high-density “independent living” units would be built on a 5-to-1 vote October 13, 2009. 

 The Zoning Ordinance amendment approved by the council in summer 2009 specified that any such senior living facilities would have a restriction that at least 90 percent of the residents  be aged 62 or older, and the tract on which it sits be at least 15 acres.

Dronet said earlier this month his policy is to “offer priority treatment and discounts to Corrales residents and their families that have asked to be included on our interest list.”

Plans originally called for substantial rehabilitation of the old Academy dorms, cafeteria, gym and other facilities as well as demolition and new construction of new structures on the part of the property villagers that think of as the old Seventh Day Adventist high school. 

Virtually no opposition was voiced to the proposed phase two independent living residential units to the south of the main campus at the August 27, 2009 P&Z commission meeting, where residents’ positions were mixed and focused mainly on traffic and water/waste water concerns for the phase one plans for the old Sandia View Academy.

The site plan documents showed 48 rooms for the “independent living” component, although another section of the submittal refers to 150 people in “independent living.”

On the part of the project where the old schoolhouse building stands, 24 rooms were shown for an Alzheimer’s unit, 50 rooms for one “assisted living” unit and 51 in another. Those were in addition to a “skilled nursing” component with 50 suites.

The complex also included a pharmacy and medical office building, offices and expanded recreational and exercise facilities.

Generating most discussion in 2009 were issues about waste water treatment and disposal.  Typically in Corrales, that is the biggest concern raised about higher-density development since nearly all Corraleños have private, domestic wells.

The revised plan sought approval “to remove the condemned schoolhouse building; to remove the existing cafeteria building, to construct a new building to replace the schoolhouse, and to make minor changes to the nursing-medical building needed as a result of the schoolhouse removal.”

Submissions to the P&Z commission stated that the old building’s roof is the main obstacle to its re-use. Inspectors said it “pose(s) a life safety threat to the occupants.” which “make the building unfit for rehabilitation and re-use.”