Don't build apartments and houses in Waveny Park.

CCRC News

We're not opposed to a CCRC in New Canaan. We are opposed to residential development in Waveny Park.

Waveny Care Network will tell you about the many benefits CCRCs provide, and yes, the benefits for the few who can afford it are attractive. They will NOT tell you, however, about the potential perils of building on "leased" public property, for both the residents and the town. They most likely will not mention, for example, the ongoing case of Sherburne Commons in Nantucket.

The Town of Nantucket leased 9 acres of town land for a CCRC that was then built but only partially occupied before going bankrupt. Staffing was cut, and residents who had signed on for 3 meals a day were cut back to 1. According to the Nantucket Independent, many of the residents who paid the entrance fee, which ranged from $700,000 to $1 million for a cottage and $270,000 to $450,000 for an apartment, had sold their Nantucket homes to buy in. Residents bought in with the understanding that if they moved or died, they or their family would get back 90 percent of the entrance fee. Now it is unlikely residents will get their entrance fee returned. Said one man, "My mom and most of the people who live there are over 80. The angst they've been going through is not something they should be going through."

And, having leased away public land, the Town of Nantucket is left holding the bag, and is under pressure to change the zoning to condominium status to attract a buyer or outside operator. Think about that, and think about the future of Waveny Park.