Proposed Life Plan Community
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About the Proposed New Canaan Life Plan Community
Waveny LifeCare Network is exploring creating a nonprofit Life Plan Community on town-owned land west of Lapham Road, between the Merritt Parkway and Route 106 referred to as Parcel E of the Waveny Zone – currently the town mulch field.
This concept is in an early stage. No final design or layout has been approved, it is pliable. No final ground lease has been proposed. Waveny is beginning a public information and listening process so residents, neighbors, Town officials, commissions, and community stakeholders can learn more, ask questions, and help identify what must be vetted before any formal request is made.
Waveny’s approach is simple: Inform. Listen. Ask. Waveny will share the need and the concept, listen carefully to the community, and return to the Town Council with a more fully developed request informed by public input.
- Inform: Share the senior living need, explain the concept Waveny is exploring, and provide the community with the context needed to understand why it deserves thoughtful consideration.
- Listen: Create meaningful opportunities for residents, neighbors, elected officials, and community stakeholders to ask questions, raise concerns, and share perspectives.
- Ask: Return to the Town Council at the appropriate time with a more fully developed request, informed by what Waveny has heard and by a clearer understanding of the issues, studies, and safeguards that need to be addressed.
Proposed Location and Concept
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Waveny proposing?
Waveny is exploring the creation of a nonprofit senior living community, often referred to as a Life Plan Community or Continuing Care Retirement Community, on town-owned land west of Lapham Road. There is precedent for this model and structure. Over 50 years ago, Waveny Care Center was formed through a long-term land lease with the Town of New Canaan within the Waveny Zone.
The concept would provide housing, support services, and onsite health access to care for seniors as their needs change over time. The goal is to give more New Canaan residents the opportunity to remain connected to the community they know and love while also strengthening Waveny’s nonprofit mission for the future. Many seniors have already left New Canaan, and those towns have been enriched and benefited economically.
Importantly, this design helps fund the current and future charity care and undercompensated care needs of our residents. These financial needs have grown exponentially as our community ages.
Has this project been approved?
Only Waveny LifeCare Network’s board of directors has approved the concept. No other formal requests have been submitted.
No final design has been approved. No final ground lease has been proposed. No memorandum of understanding has been submitted.
Waveny is at the beginning of a public dialogue and listening process. The purpose is to share the concept, explain the need, answer questions, and understand what residents and Town officials need to evaluate before any formal request is made.
What is Waveny asking the Town Council to do now?
At this stage, Waveny is asking Town Council to participate and join Waveny in the public phase.
Waveny is informing the Town Council and the community about the senior living need, the concept being explored, and why Waveny believes it deserves serious public consideration.
Over the next several weeks, Waveny intends to hold public information sessions, meet with residents and stakeholders, have an open dialogue, and listen to concerns. Waveny would then expect to return to the Town Council with a more formal request once there has been broader public discussion and a clearer understanding of a resolution.
Why is Waveny exploring this?
New Canaan has a longstanding unmet senior and community need.
Many longtime residents want to remain connected to New Canaan as their housing and care needs change. Families also want trusted local options when aging parents or loved ones need more care and support.
Waveny believes a Life Plan Community could help address this need while also supporting Waveny’s long-term ability to serve New Canaan families across a broader continuum of care.
Why does New Canaan need a senior living option?
Many older adults want to remain close to familiar people, routines, physicians, houses of worship, nonprofits, friends, family, and the daily life of the town.
Without appropriate local options, residents may be forced to leave New Canaan when their housing or care needs change. That can be difficult for seniors and for families trying to remain involved in care decisions.
A Life Plan Community would provide another local option for residents who want to plan ahead and remain connected to New Canaan. New Canaan’s neighboring towns have been able to successfully solve this dilemma for their current and future senior communities. Unfortunately, this longstanding issue has never been resolved here in New Canaan, to the detriment of the town.
What is a Life Plan Community?
A Life Plan Community is a senior living model that typically combines independent living with access to services and healthcare as residents’ needs change over time.
A Life Plan Community can be viewed as a long-term care insurance model. Residents pay an entrance fee and ongoing monthly fees that support housing, services, amenities, and access to future healthcare. The model is designed to provide financial stability, planning, continuity, and aging in place for older adults and their families.
Why is the proposed location west of Lapham Road?
The land west of Lapham Road is being explored because it is near Waveny LifeCare Network’s existing care campus and could allow a senior living community to connect with Waveny’s broader continuum of services. Its deed restriction includes “health.” The proposed location is also close to Lapham Community Center and lies within the Waveny Zone.
The site also raises important questions. Waveny Zone, the Lapham legacy, public access, conservation, traffic, stormwater, design, and long-term land stewardship all matter deeply to the community. Those issues need to be studied carefully and publicly.
The purpose of the public information process is to determine what must be evaluated before any formal proposal can move forward.
Is this Waveny Park?
Officially, the proposed parcel is an independently identified parcel (Parcel E). It is part of the Waveny Zone, but is not located within the same parcel as Waveny House, nor the 100+ acres located around Waveny House, which is Parcel D. The land being discussed is town-owned land west of Lapham Road, between the Merritt Parkway and Route 106. It is associated with the broader Waveny Zone, and public discussion will understandably include questions about Waveny Park, the Lapham legacy, public access, and land stewardship.
Waveny understands that any proposal involving town-owned land in this area deserves careful public scrutiny. That is why Waveny is beginning with public information, listening, and review rather than asking for approval of a final project.
Would the community be gated or closed to the public?
The design will not be a locked or gated community. The campus will be open to the public, walking trails will be extended from Parcel D through Parcel E, and the formal landscaping will be consistent with that surrounding Waveny House. In addition, the architectural design mirrors Waveny House and respects its architectural history.
Waveny expects expanded public access and park spaces, walking trails, landscape stewardship, and open-space protections to be important parts of the review. These details would need to be studied and refined through the public process, Town review, and community input.
How large would the project be?
The concept currently being studied includes approximately:
- 134 independent living residences with onsite healthcare
- 16 apartments in two cottages with on-campus healthcare
- Approximately 200 underground parking spaces
- Just under 300,000 gross square feet
- A campus and park area of approximately 20 acres
- A main building of approximately three stories, with two, two-story wings
These figures are preliminary and subject to review, refinement, public input, municipal process, and final approvals.
How will the project be financed?
The project is expected to be financed, owned, and operated by Waveny LifeCare Network through a nonprofit capital financing model. Financing could include private placement of nonprofit bonds, equity investment, and short-term subordinate financing.
Final financing details would be developed and reviewed as the proposal moves forward.
Would taxpayers pay for the project?
Waveny expects the project to be financed, owned, and operated by Waveny LifeCare Network, not by the Town. Waveny, if approved, would enter into a long-term land lease with the Town generating additional revenue for the Town.
That said, Waveny does not want to make broad claims before the details are finalized and can be described accurately.
Would this require a long-term ground lease?
Ultimately, if approved, Waveny would work with the Town toward a memorandum of understanding around a potential long-term ground lease.
However, Waveny believes that should come after more public information, more questions, more discussion, and clearer definition of what needs to be resolved.
Why would public land be used for senior living?
That is an important public-policy question.
Waveny is a nonprofit organization created to serve community healthcare needs. The existing Waveny campus reflects a long-term public-purpose relationship between the Town and Waveny.
The question now is whether a similar public-purpose structure could responsibly address New Canaan’s senior living need while preserving public land ownership, public oversight, public benefit, and municipal review.
Are there deed restrictions on the property?
There are deed restrictions on several parcels within the broader Waveny Zone.
Waveny has received independent legal guidance indicating that the proposed use is consistent with applicable restrictions on Parcel E, but the issue will be reviewed through the appropriate Town process as the proposal moves forward.
Would New Canaan residents receive priority?
The purpose of the project is to address a New Canaan need, and Waveny wants any access policy to reflect that purpose.
Would donors receive priority or guaranteed access?
No.
A charitable gift supports Waveny’s charitable mission and the community benefit. It does not purchase admission, priority, or a guaranteed residence.
Philanthropy and access policy will remain independent, as it has for fifty plus years.
Would this be only for wealthy residents?
Our proposal sets pricing that is affordable for approximately 65% of New Canaan seniors. We have Waveny’s Inn off of Oenoke Ridge and our charity care program to meet the financial needs of the remaining households. The goal is not to create an isolated enclave. The goal is to create a senior living option connected to Waveny’s nonprofit continuum of care and to the New Canaan community.
How would pricing compare with other senior living communities?
Preliminary estimates suggest that Waveny’s pricing would be lower than comparable senior living communities in the surrounding areas, including both entrance fees and monthly fees. Affordability is extremely important to the design.
Current preliminary estimates for entrance fees range from approximately $1.1 million for a one-bedroom residence up to $2.5 million for larger two-bedroom residences.
These figures are preliminary and subject to change as planning, financing, design, and operating assumptions are refined.
Would this affect New Canaan’s affordable housing obligations?
Waveny recognizes that affordable housing is an important issue for New Canaan.
We are committed to not negatively impacting New Canaan’s affordability percentage. Regrettably, Waveny LifeCare Network’s current free and discounted senior housing through our charity care program cannot be counted in New Canaan’s affordability percentage.
The policy, land-use, and housing implications should be reviewed carefully with the Town as the proposal moves forward.
What about Waveny’s existing affordable senior housing?
Waveny operates The New Canaan Inn on Oenoke Ridge, which provides a lower-cost senior housing alternative. The Inn includes 34 units, with housing costs currently around $1,600 per month plus additional costs for services such as meals, utilities, housekeeping, security, activities, and programming.
Waveny also provides charity care as part of its nonprofit mission to The Inn residents in need.
What about traffic?
Traffic and access are legitimate questions and will be studied as part of the review process.
Traffic analysis, access planning, safety considerations, and mitigation strategies will be developed and reviewed publicly before any final approvals are considered.
What about stormwater and environmental impact?
Stormwater, drainage, conservation, and environmental management are important issues that will be studied carefully.
These questions will be answered with engineering, environmental analysis, and public review. If the proposal can improve stormwater management or environmental stewardship, that will be documented and shared publicly.
Would this change the character of Waveny Park?
The character of the Waveny Zone, the Lapham legacy, and the public’s relationship to this land are central considerations in the project’s design.
Waveny’s preliminary design expands park areas, walking trails, and public access, stays true to the Waveny House landscape design, and increases vegetation, walking trails, water retention, and environmental protections, all additive.
What public benefits could the project provide?
Potential public benefits could include:
- Retaining existing New Canaan residents
- Greater in-town continuity for older adults and their families
- Support for Waveny’s nonprofit healthcare and charity care mission
- Public access enhancements
- Expanded and improved walking trails
- Landscape stewardship and environmental management
- Local jobs
- Retention of senior residents as active members of the community
- A potential long-term public-purpose revenue-producing ground lease structure
What happens next?
Waveny intends to begin a public information and listening process.
This will include opportunities for residents, neighbors, elected officials, Town bodies, and community stakeholders to learn more, have an open dialogue, and build consensus.
Waveny’s goal is to return to the Town Council later this year with the benefit of public input and with a more formal request to consider a memorandum of understanding around a long-term ground lease.
How can residents ask questions or share feedback?
Waveny welcomes questions and feedback.
Residents may submit questions or comments by contacting Bob Doran:
Waveny will use public input to help identify the issues that need to be addressed as the proposal is reviewed.
Will there be public meetings?
Yes. Waveny intends to hold public information sessions over the next several months.
Details will be posted on Waveny.org as dates, times, and locations are confirmed.
What is Waveny’s commitment to the community?
Waveny LifeCare Network has an over 50-year commitment to the Town of New Canaan, caring for its seniors and the greater community regardless of their ability to pay. Its annual charity and undercompensated care levels far exceed $3 million per year and growing. Waveny’s commitment is to a 5-Star healthcare quality standard and for its strategies to be transparent, respectful, and responsive to the community’s needs.
The next step should be public, constructive, and grounded in facts.
Waveny believes New Canaan deserves a thoughtful conversation about how to help more senior residents remain connected to the community they helped build.
View the Town Council Presentation
