The Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday approved plans to build a three-story assisted living facility on undeveloped land at the Center at Split Rock on Bridgeport Avenue.
The assisted living facility was proposed by Benchmark Senior Living, a company that already operates 16 senior living communities in Connecticut and 27 throughout New England.
The building will be located behind the daycare center in the plaza.
The plans call for about 89 units in the building, which is slated to be about 80,000 square feet.
The facility will have studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, including 20 units in a memory care wing for early stage dementia or Alzheimer’s residents, according to minutes from a previous Planning and Zoning meeting.
The commission approved the plans 5 – 1, with Joan Flannery casting the lone dissenting vote.
Flannery said she liked the plans, but disagreed with a provision in the approval that allowed blasting at the site.
The commission’s consultant, Anthony Panico, said the company had no intention on blasting. However, the commission allows for blasting in case the need arises during development.
“They don’t want to blast. It’s cost prohibitive,” Panico said. “It’s highly unlikely, but can I give you a guarantee? No. No one can.”
Commission member Anthony Pogoda said the approval was a long time coming.
“It’s a good fit,” Pogoda said. “And there’s a need in our city for something like this.”
An assisted living facility was approved for the site in 2008, under an application from another developer. The plans never came to fruition.