Gilbert’s Planning Commission/Design Review Board is considering a proposal to develop an 87-unit congregate care facility on 2.6 acres at the SWC of Gilbert Road and Hackamore Avenue.
The Bellazona Wellness Center is proposed as a two-story 58.8KSF facility intended to provide a variety of medical services, including memory care and short- and long-term rehabilitation services.
According to the project overview, “The proposed development site is to be completed in a single phase and includes numerous common amenities available to patients, including outdoor garden spaces, activity rooms, barber/beauty salon, coffee and snack bar, quiet rooms, and indoor and outdoor dining spaces. The facility will be designed in Arizona Mission style architecture including key features such as white stucco walls with tan trim, flat roofing, curvilinear gables, covered canopies with colonnades, arched entryways and windows, vertical metal lattice elements, shutters with wrought iron balconies, and clay roof tiles.”
In addition to 34 private rooms for memory care residents, the first floor will have a reception area and lounge space at the main entrance as well as a coffee/snack bar with outdoor seating. Residents will have private dining areas near their rooms. The first floor will also feature a central kitchen, laundry and maintenance areas, a physician suite, salon and business management areas. The first floor’s U-shaped layout will open into a secure, landscaped courtyard for the memory care residents to use.
The second floor will feature 27 private short-term rehabilitation skilled nursing units and 26 private long-term skilled nursing units. The two areas will be operated and served separately.
The site will be heavily landscaped using a plant palette that includes 14 types of trees, 19 varieties of shrubs and five varieties of groundcovers. In keeping with streetscape requirements, Mexican Fan Palms will be planted along the roadway.
During the preliminary review, town staff had been concerned about the building’s mechanical screening walls and recommended breaking up the long horizontal planes. Since the facility will directly face existing homes across Hackamore Avenue, staff also requested an increased level of visual appeal on the north face. The mechanical screening wall was redesigned to include a cornice on top and the long wall planes were broken up. The north face design now includes arched windows, clay tile roofing and wrought iron balconies.
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