MANSFIELD — A new $38 million assisted living development along Cline Avenue will be affordable for all senior citizens, according to David Cocagne, CEO of Vermilion Development.
“Every senior can afford to live (at Silver Birch of Mansfield) because every senior is eligible for Social Security,” he said after a ceremonial groundbreaking for the three-story multifamily community of 120 apartments on Monday afternoon.
He said the majority of residents who will live in the facility’s mixture of one-bedroom and studio apartments will have their respective assisted living services paid for by Medicaid.
It’s Vermilion’s first project in partnership with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and the ceremony included state Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario), Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry and Barbara Richards, director of multi-family housing at the OHFA.
“In our case, as is the case in our nine (Silver Birch) communities in Indiana, two in Arizona and one in Illinois, Medicaid will pay for their services, and then every resident pays for his or her own room and board,” Cocagne said.
“However, room and board is capped and it’s capped by two things. One, a state Medicaid agency says you may charge no more than a person’s Social Security income, less a personal-needs allowance.
“Similarly, because we’re using low-income housing tax credits (in the construction), there’s a separate cap associated with those. We have to adhere to the lesser of those two caps,” Cocagne said.
“So when I said this is affordable to everyone, I genuinely meant that,” he said.
According to Cocagne, this is the first such project in Ohio to be financed under the new “affordable, assisted-living guidelines.”
He said residents who don’t qualify for Medicaid can pay privately until they become eligible.
“If somebody isn’t eligible for Medicaid … say somebody sells a home for $80,000 and knows (they are) going to run out of money eventually … you can pay privately for your services, and then when you’ve spent down your assets, you go onto Medicaid.
“People who live here, if they’re paying privately, come here with the security of knowing if they spend down their assets, they’re not going to be forced out. They can go on to Medicaid and they can remain a resident,” Cocagne said.
In remarks before shovels were turned, the leader of the Chicago-based development company praised the legislative work of Romanchuk on a project that Cocagne said began eight years ago.
“For those of you who’ve ever attended a groundbreaking or ribbon cutting, it’s sort of a throwaway to thank the elected officials in the room. But Mark Romanchuk really is the reason we’re standing here today,” Cocagne said.
“Mark has been a real delight to work with and for any of you who don’t know him, he’s also a wonderful spokesperson and cheerleader for his community,” the developer said.
“(Today) is the capstone of eight years of work with the Ohio General Assembly and governor to secure an increase in the assisted living rate to support assisted-living communities like our own that predominantly serve the Medicaid population.
“In that eight-year journey, there was no more steadfast, indefatigable ally than Mark,” Cocagne said.
Romanchuk recalled his initial conversation with Cocagne, who told him Vermilion wanted to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on such facilities around the state.
“It was a timely conversation because we had just been talking about changing state policy to incentivize more facilities like this. In Ohio, we have the nursing home level of care covered,” he said.
“We have a lot of skilled nursing homes in our state, but we didn’t have a lot of assisted living beds. So our goal was to expand assisted-living beds,” Romanchuk said.
Vermilion’s plan to build such communities in Mansfield and other locations around the state helped with the effort to convince lawmakers to change the reimbursement rates, the lawmaker said.
“I want to thank (Cocagne) personally for coming and following through with your promise. I hope the state of Ohio did our part of it and I’m so happy that you’re here,” Romanchuk said.
Richards said the OHFA worked “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Vermilion to bring the plan to fruition.
“Silver Birch will be welcoming dozens of new residents into its community with wrap-around services that will keep our seniors engaged, active and comfortable,” she said.
“Supporting affordable housing is an effort that takes the contribution of everyone here today, and this is one of the first developments supported by the new affordable, assisted-living program.
“It’s our mission (at OHFA) to develop housing opportunities for all Ohioans. This is the first (such) development,” Richards said.
“This new development will provide its residents with a safe, affordable place to call home in a community they love close to family and friends,” she said.
In 2021, the site was proposed for a Dollar General store, an effort that died when the city, including the Planning Commission, rejected efforts to have a section of the 10-acre lot rezoned as B2, or general business.
A Richland Countywide housing study done recently found a growing need for senior housing. The study found that 20 percent of the county’s population are currently seniors, and another 14 percent are near seniors (age 55–64).
The new facility will be a wood-framed, 3-story building with elevators.
It will feature designated resident laundry rooms, barber/beauty shop, library, physical therapy/fitness center, recreational and social areas, as well outdoor spaces, including walking paths, gazebo, and patio.
The Silver Birch will advance a major policy initiative of the Ohio General Assembly (House Bill 33, approved in the 2023 session) by expanding the supply of affordable assisted living, the company said.
Cocagne also praised Perry’s efforts in helping to develop a lot that had been vacant since the former Appleseed School was closed and torn down.
“Jodie has a long professional history in and around business and commerce, which makes it so exciting for me to have the opportunity to meet her and for us to get to celebrate (this) investment in your community,” Cocagne said.
“The mayor has identified economic development as one of her top three priorities of her administration. So I think this aligns very nicely with what you’re focused on, Mayor,” he said.
Perry said the city was excited to see a “second life” for the property.
“This is a substantial investment,” she said. “When I talk about growth, I always mean in terms of jobs and economic development … but also residents. Our population, after many years of decline, is starting to inch up.
“It’s modest at the moment, but we do believe it’s going to continue to grow. We do know there’s a lot of folks that are aging in place in our community. So to be able to add another option for them to stay in town close to their family and friends, I think is really tremendous,” the mayor said.
Silver Birch of Mansfield will have approximately 40 to 45 employees, including licensed nurses, certified nursing aides, culinary, maintenance and housekeeping staff.
The community will have staff on site 24-hours per day and each apartment will be equipped with an emergency call system, the company has said.
Resident amenities will also include restaurant-style meals, robust activity program calendar, and transportation to local retail and community events.
Construction work at the site actually began a few months ago, a project led by ARCO/Murray, a single-source national design and construction firm that specializes in commercial construction and real estate needs for Fortune 500 companies and individual businesses.
Cocagne said he hopes the building will be complete by January 2026. Vermilion Development is a Chicago-based real estate development and investment firm specializing in community-oriented mixed-use projects, public-private partnerships, and assisted living.
Founded in 1992, Vermilion has completed or is currently completing developments totaling more than $750 million of gross investment value.
“It takes a little while to get our licensure and things like that. So we hope to be open in January as well, but that’s a function of the various regulatory agencies that have to do inspections and certifications in order for us to then open and serve the community,” Cocagne said.
(Below are photos from a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday afternoon for a new $38 million assisted-living facility for senior citizens along Cline Avenue in Mansfield.)
