The Mooring of Kennebunk: New memory-care facility coming to Route 1
KENNEBUNK, Maine — The town's Planning Board has approved a final plan for The Mooring at Kennebunk, a new memory care facility that will be built on approximately 14 acres at the former rest area on York Street.
Located at the end of a new road to be built off Route 1, the center will provide 12 units for residents who are living with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other conditions related to memory issues, according to town documents. The facility will be staffed around the clock and offer a centralized living room and other spaces for gathering.
Once complete, The Mooring at Kennebunk will be the third in the region. Two other Moorings are located in Cumberland and Scarborough. All are owned by Beach Glass Transitions, an organization founded by Lynn Peel, a certified dementia care practitioner.
The Scarborough center, called The Mooring at the Downs, after the former race track, describes the facilities’ philosophy as a “gift of uncompromising care.”
“For our housemates, The Mooring is home, and our highly trained staff is carefully selected to reinforce that commitment,” the facility says. “They’re familiar faces for both housemates and their families, building caring relationships that transcend work.”
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The Planning Board approved the plan during its meeting on Feb. 13.
Engineer Bill Walsh, of Walsh Engineering Associates in Westbrook, represented the project’s applicant, Beach Glass Management LLC, at the meeting, during which the board gave the plan its final review.
Walsh could not be reached for comment about when the project might break ground and when it is targeted for completion.
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At the Feb. 13 meeting, Walsh summarized some of the adjustments the applicant made to the project in order to secure permitting from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
The approved plan calls for the center to be built farther back from York Street than first proposed, in order to keep away from the two vernal pools as much as possible. Originally, the facility was proposed to be built closer to the pools, within the required 250-foot setback.
Walsh told the Planning Board that the road to be built at the site will be extended to accommodate the center’s new location on the property. The road also will have a 25-foot buffer from the wetlands on one side.
Walsh spoke of other adjustments made to the plan to secure permitting from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. For example, at the request of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, stone walls will run parallel to York Street at the front of the property.
“That’s to keep the critters from crawling onto Route 1 and getting run over,” he said.
Also for the animals, two culverts will be installed on site to help them move around safely.
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Parking for visitors will be arranged in a cul-de-sac at the entrance of the facility. Staff members will have their own lot nearby.
Board member Edward Trainer praised Walsh and the applicant for their hard work in securing the Department of Environmental Protection permitting.
“I commend the creative work you put in on this project, in a very difficult situation,” Trainer said. “That work shows.”
The applicant first filed a sketch plan with the town back in the fall of 2019. The Planning Board held a public hearing for the project in November of 2021 and was expected the final plan for it a year later. However, as a result of delays in the state’s permitting process, the board ended up granting the applicant extensions for the final plan’s due date.
The applicant submitted the final plan in early February. The board’s vote to approve the plan was unanimous.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: The Mooring of Kennebunk: New memory-care facility coming to Route 1
