Citing strenuous financial conditions, a nursing home in Rosemont is asking the city for a three-year extension to break ground on its stalled expansion plans.
Woodbine Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center has yet to begin construction on its plans for a 31,909-square-foot addition, which received city approval in 2022. In a new extension request, the facility attributed delays to market conditions that “have substantially declined” since the plan was first greenlit.
“The substantial increase in interest rates and the increased cost of construction has severely affected the applicant’s ability to finance the proposed construction,” Woodbine said in its application. “These circumstances could not have been reasonably anticipated by the applicant at the time of approval and have prevented the applicant from beginning construction.”
Woodbine’s development special use permit expired Oct. 15. Its extension request will head to the Planning Commission for consideration at its meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2, according to a preliminary docket.
The proposed three-year extension would “allow time for market corrections and substantial construction activity to commence,” the applicant wrote.
Woodbine’s planned addition would help the facility offer more private rooms. Its bed count would remain the same, at 307.
“The proposed addition will improve the patient experience … by reducing the number of quad- and triple-occupancy rooms and increasing the number of private rooms for patients,” according to the application.
Following the Dec. 2 meeting, the Planning Commission recommendation will head to City Council for a final vote on the matter.
