West Newsmagazine News

West Newsmagazine is West St. Louis County's exclusive direct-mailed community newspaper.

Ellisville considers retirement home at Manchester and Reinke Roads

By Ted Dixon Jr.

Senior citizens in West County soon may have another living option as a proposal was presented for a 134-resident retirement home to be located at 15434 Manchester Road.

Mark Doring, the engineer for the project, said Spectrum wishes to rezone 7.647 acres of land on Manchester Road near Reinke Road. The lot currently is zoned commercial and the plan is to rezone it to planned commercial and single-family residential. The property discussed also sits near a local Shop 'n Save grocery store. Doring said he met with nearby residents last fall and reported to the Ellisville City Council during a public hearing on June 18 that all but one is open to the idea.

Doring said the property previously consisted of 42 duplexes and the building is three stories high. He also said the site slopes dramatically downward to Fish Pot Creek.

Residents expressed concern about the environment surrounding the location.

"We had to keep the trees," Doring said. "We will go green."

When he informed neighbors of this, Doring said they were very excited. While other municipalities in the area have had battles recently about buffer zones between new developments and residential areas, Doring said there will be a 30-foot buffer around the site.

"The impact on the neighbors is minimal," Doring said. "We're 600 feet back from the woods. You won't even know we're there."

Doring also said a traffic study was done on the site and concluded the impact would be minimal. In addition, he said that most of the residents of the retirement community will not have cars.

“We will have vans that will take them wherever they want," Doring said.

The project is contingent on the compliance of certain requirements, including the dedication of 10 feet of sidewalk along Reinke Road as well as proper landscaping. The retirement home also must comply with Ellisville's Comprehensive Plan, be aesthetically pleasing, and cannot interfere with the operations of Shop 'n Save.

A vote on the proposal has not been scheduled as of West Newsmagazine press time.