By STEVE LENOX
BLOOMFIELD, NJ- With approvals from the local Planning Board and Township Council, Sycamore Propco East Hanover LLC, an affiliate of Bloomfield based CHA Partners (CHA), is set to commence the conversion of the currently vacant four-story office building formerly owned by Novartis in East Hanover.
Once completed, the 95,000 sf structure, located at the intersection of South Ridgedale Avenue and Route 10 will house a 128 bed Long-Term care facility featuring assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing.
Construction is slated to last for approximately nine months.
“Whether it’s in Paterson, Hammonton, Jersey City, or any other adaptive reuse project we have worked on, quality of patient care is first and foremost on our minds,” stated Bill Colgan, Managing Partner, CHA. “Once completed, the residents that seek to improve their quality of life through the rehabilitative services of Sycamore Eldercare will see that every amenity is available to them.”
Since 2008 Community Healthcare Associates has successfully revitalized and constructed new healthcare facilities in both New Jersey and New York resulting in job creation and preservation of community-based healthcare. Successful projects have included the repositioning of the former Barnert Hospital in Paterson; the overhaul of the 100,000 sf, former William B. Kessler Memorial Hospital in Hammonton; and the conversion of the shuttered Greenville Hospital into the fully occupied Greenville Medical Arts Complex in Jersey City. Earlier this year, CHA announced that their plans to develop a 186,000 sf medical arts complex and 120 luxury residential apartments at the site of the former Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield, would begin in the early part of 2018.
Set to be managed by Sycamore Eldercare, LLC, the facility will contain 107 rooms, 86 of them containing one bed and the remaining 21 containing two beds. Every room will feature its own kitchenette as well as a private bathroom with shower. Modern sitting areas both inside and outside the building will also be provided offering residents and their visitors an opportunity to relax.
“Our team feels fortunate to bring this project to East Hanover,” said Bruno D’Uva, Principal of Sycamore Eldercare, LLC. “Our goal is to offer the highest quality of healthcare services, meeting the growing needs of our region’s aging population, and that’s what we will do for the town that I am so proud to say I was raised in.”
In line with their commitment to residents in other facilities managed by Sycamore’s parent company, Signature Senior Services, D’Uva said that they will once again rely on emerging technology, artificial intelligence, and the highest level of integrity from their personnel to give all of their residents “the comfort and consistency of care they desire, deserve and require.”
Speaking to the array available programs such as physical therapy, memory care, stroke rehabilitation, joint replacement rehab and dialysis support that will be provided within the building East Hanover Mayor Joseph Panullo said that “he looks forward to cutting the ribbon on this dynamic facility that will transform and modernize how local residents can receive top class care, and stay close to home.”
