A patch of land in Parma Heights that has sat empty since a church was torn down in 2015 could soon become the site of a $35 million assisted living facility built specifically for seniors on fixed, lower incomes. Vermilion Development is pursuing plans for Silver Birch of Parma Heights, a three-story, 120-room facility at 11001 W. Ridgewood Drive, the former home of Church in the Woods.
The project is currently working its way through Parma Heights boards and commissions, according to Cleveland.com, which first reported on the proposal. The roughly 95,000-square-foot building would include a courtyard, common areas, associated parking, landscaping, and an on-site stormwater management facility, all situated on the 10.25-acre parcel. Developers have already requested and received a variance from the Parma Heights Board of Zoning Appeals, reducing the brick facade requirement from 100 percent brick down to 25 percent, clearing one hurdle in the approval process.
A Decade of Dead Ends for the Same Lot
The site’s vacancy traces back to the demolition of Church in the Woods, formerly Parma Park Reformed Church, which was pastored by Rev. Clinton C. Baker from 1967 to 1995 and once featured an 8,322-square-foot A-frame sanctuary, according to Lakewood Patch. The city rezoned the property to a senior citizen residential district around a decade before this latest proposal, per the Cleveland.com report, positioning it for exactly this kind of use. That earlier push wasn’t the first attempt at senior housing on the site, either — back in January 2016, general contractor Jackson Taylor Constructors solicited subcontractor bids for a proposed $10 million to $15 million, four-story memory care and assisted living facility called the Randall Residence, according to ENR Pulse. That earlier project never broke ground, leaving the parcel idle for years afterward.
Parma Heights Service Director Bob Sepik said Silver Birch approached the city about the current project roughly a year before publication, the Cleveland.com report notes. Mayor Marie Gallo described the facility as offering residents more independence than existing Parma Heights senior facilities, per the same account. Neither official could offer residents a firm opening date; Gallo said the timeline would become clearer once approvals are finalized and groundbreaking occurs. Residents have already been asking city officials when the facility will open and whether they can reserve rooms, according to the report.
Why Affordable Assisted Living, and Why Now
Silver Birch’s model is built around a specific niche: 100 percent Medicaid-certified affordable assisted living, a structure made more financially viable by Ohio House Bill 33, enacted in 2023, which expanded state support and tax credits for this type of housing. An Ohio Housing Finance Agency project summary notes that assisted living care costs Medicaid roughly half as much as traditional skilled nursing home care, a key driver behind the state’s recent push into this sector…