The developer of a new Westbrook assisted-living project will complete a road

to link Stroudwater and Spring streets.

A large assisted-living center that has been in the works for years is finally heading toward approval, and along with it comes an access road that will connect two major thoroughfares in Westbrook – Spring and Stroudwater streets.

The three-story, 95-unit facility, known as “The Lodge at Stroudwater Landing,” is the second phase of the Stroudwater Landing project, and upon its completion, the new Landing Road will create a shortcut between Stroudwater and Spring streets.

Sidewalks and the expansion of an existing trail system will also increase connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists.

According to Eric Dudley, Westbrook’s city engineer, the city specifically planned for Landing Road to be a connection between Spring and Stroudwater streets, and said he hasn’t heard any concerns for the potential of added traffic.

In fact, one of the purposes of the road is to alleviate traffic on Spring and Stroudwater streets, said Westbrook City Administrator Jerre Bryant.

“We hope people use it if it better serves their travel needs because it will take some pressure off Stroudwater or Spring if they do,” he said Wednesday. “It gives an additional travel option for vehicles getting through the city.”

When the first phase of the development, Avita of Stroudwater, was built in 2013, an access road stemming from Spring Street was created, culminating at the memory care facility. An entrance to the Lodge development will be across from Avita, but the road will continue, running past the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland land and onto Stroudwater Street.

Through the next five years, the immediate area from Spring to Stroudwater streets will see considerable development, with a large residential subdivision planned for the former Clarke Farm, the continued development of the Stroudwater Landing project, the construction of a new Animal Refuge League facility, and impending projects on the former Snyder property off Stroudwater Street.

Landing Road will connect these developments, as well as provide a new outlet for commuters traveling from Westbrook into Portland and vice versa. Now, commuters hoping to get from Stroudwater to Spring routinely travel to William Clarke Drive to make the connection.

Bryant said many commuters often use side streets through residential areas as a shortcut, often traveling at high speeds through the dense neighborhoods, causing concern from residents.

There will be minimal curb cuts on Landing Road, he said, because it is designed as a connector.

“It’s designed that they’re not cutting through a neighborhood,” he said about the traffic.

Daniel Maguire, a managing partner for the Sandy River Co., the developer of the Stroudwater Landing project, said Tuesday that the team hopes construction will start “before the end of summer,” and will likely continue through most of 2016. He said Landing Road will be completed during that time and before the building opens.

Maguire also hopes that with the combination of the curves in the road, as well as added landscaping and crosswalks between Avita and the Lodge, commuters will be “respectful that the road passes through a senior care campus.”

City Planner Molly Just said Wednesday that when the development team first applied for a zone change on the land, which was required to develop the senior care campus, it was stipulated by the city that Landing Road would serve as a connector.

“Staff predicated its support (for the zone change) on the construction of a through road connecting Spring Street and Stroudwater Street,” she said. “This is not a design feature that the applicant desired. Staff of planning, engineering, police, fire and public services strongly believe that this is an important opportunity for the city to increase the connections in its street network.”

Will Conway, the vice president for landscape architecture at Sebago Technics, presented the final facility site plans to the Westbrook Planning Board on April 7, which showed outdoor amenities such as a promenade, a Bocce terrace, gardens, patios, a fire pit and walking trails.

Unlike Avita, which houses seniors with dementia and Alzheimer’s, the Lodge will be home to residents who are generally more mobile.

Wendy Holden, an architect from Gawron Turgeon Architects, showed the building plan to the board members, who largely complimented the project.

“The goal for the project was to kind of create a lodge feel,” Holden said about the plans.

Conway had said that the idea was to embrace the surrounding trees and woods, which could provide a relaxing setting. The plan includes heavy timbers and stone to create the lodge look.

Longtime Planning Board member Rene Daniel said he was “pleased and impressed” with the project.

Only a few concerns came from board members on the project, including comments about the number of parking spaces (Avita has had complaints that there are too few) and space for snow removal. No board members commented on Landing Road.

During discussion on the project, Conway was asked about walking options for potential residents, which, he said, include sidewalks and crosswalks to Avita, sidewalks that lead to the Animal Refuge League, trails and a smaller loop pathway through the woods that connects entrances to the Lodge.

“It leads to network of trails that is currently used by the Animal Refuge League,” he said about connecting the Lodge to the existing trail system. “It’s a very walkable project.”

Portland Trails has been working to expand its Stroudwater Trail, which stems from behind Unum near Spring Street. The organization has been in discussions with the city for trails coinciding with the Clarke Farm housing development, and the trail system could eventually connect to the existing system behind the Animal Refuge League and trails behind Westbrook High School.

“I think there are significant opportunities,” Bryant said about connecting the trail systems. “The whole thing with the trail system is achieving connectivity. The more we can connect them, the more they will be used.”

Just said the new Animal Refuge League buildings, with construction beginning in late spring, will “interconnect” its trails with the Stroudwater Landing development.

The final phase of the Stroudwater Landing project will be the development of 44 cottage and townhouse units, also called a “retirement age cottage community.” Just said the developer may build the third phase within three years of the Lodge.

The Planning Board unanimously approved the final site plan. Now, the? ?developers are seeking final approvals from the Maine Department of? ?Environmental Protection.

An architect’s rendering of the proposed three-story, 95-unit assisted-living facility called The Lodge at Stroudwater Landing. Courtesy image

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