A local bill to support a proposed 150-bed, 320-job nursing home and senior living facility adjacent to Jacksonville University is making its way through City Council and potentially the Florida Legislature.
The project, called Dolphin Pointe Landing, would increase health care access in the area, create jobs and help rejuvenate the Arlington area, said project presenter Greg Nelson, president of Ohio-based Nelson Holdings.
Nelson, a JU graduate and former basketball player who serves on the university’s board of trustees, proposed the local bill and said Dolphin Pointe would be a place retirees could live close to the college campus.
“They want to be close to something that’s part of their past,” he said.
Senior housing at college campuses is a growing trend across the U.S., he said, and the facility would provide educational and job opportunities for nursing students at JU.
While a summary sheet says 320 jobs, Nelson said the facility would create at least 360 permanent jobs in addition to those needed for the two-year construction period.
Project information for Council members states the facility would create about 320 full-time jobs and when fully occupied would generate an estimated annual payroll of $8.5 million.
The operation would not include state or federal funds and would be privately funded, Nelson said, while also having “very little exposure” to the Medicaid program, which is the reason for the local bill.
The Legislature placed a moratorium in 2001 on issuance of certificates of needs for additional community nursing homes as Medicaid budgets rose and constrained the ability to meet elderly residents’ needs, according to the Florida Association for Health Care Administration website.
The Legislature extended the moratorium for five years in 2006 and again this year, until Medicaid managed care is implemented statewide or Oct. 1, 2016, whichever is sooner, according to the website.
Nelson said the majority of the 150 beds in the adult housing facility would be funded by private insurance and “no more than 30” beds would require Medicaid funding.
The local bill is asking the agency to license a nursing home by amending the special act under the guidelines that the facility is being constructed on or abutting the JU property; maintaining an affiliation with JU at all times following licensure; employing or making positions available for the education and training of JU nursing students in the fields of long-term care or geriatric nursing; and having no more than 150 beds.
“It really plays into what JU is doing,” Nelson said of the facility and JU nursing program. “It is a great opportunity.”
If approved, the project could be open in 2013 or early 2014, said Nelson, and would have a construction budget of around $50 million.
Officials at JU could not be reached Tuesday evening for comment, but a letter to Nelson from JU President Kerry Romesburg from December showed enthusiasm.
“Not only do I feel this would be very good for our community, but I also believe it could present some excellent collaborative opportunities for the university,” Romesburg said in the letter.
The letter also addressed the school’s nursing program growth and the project’s potential to create jobs and enhance the city’s “Seeds of Change” initiative for the Arlington area.
A resolution supporting the local bill was a second reading resolution in Tuesday’s full Council meeting.
The item is on the agenda for the Council Rules Committee on Oct. 17 and the Recreation, Community Development, Public Health and Safety Committee on Oct. 18.
Nelson said he or a representative would attend to answer questions from Council members about the project and would further convey why the project is a “win-win.”
“The neighborhood and JU haven’t had a lot of infrastructure improvement,” Nelson said. “This helps create a ton of jobs, helps an underserved population and really helps the Arlington area.”
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