Redstone seeks to expand Murrysville campus with senior apartments

Redstone Presbyterian Senior Care officials are hoping to have property near their Murrysville facility rezoned in order to offer more than 100 apartment units for senior independent living.

Redstone CEO John Dixon said the company purchased about 36 acres adjacent to its Murrysville location on Cline Hollow Road, with the intention of eventually expanding. The Murrysville location opened in 2001 with 90 apartments and 44 personal care units for seniors.

The additional land was purchased in 2007 for $1.15 million, according to county records.

Redstone is requesting a change for the property from its existing R-2 residential zoning to R-3, which would permit more density and the type of multi-unit buildings they are proposing.

“When we did our overlay plan, the cost for developing single-family sites was about $400,000,” Dixon said. “That would put a finished unit between $650,000 and $700,000 and we didn’t think that would fly in this community.”

During the project’s appearance at the Murrysville Planning Commission, residents from the nearby Mystic Hills housing plan expressed concern about whether or not the expansion would bring more traffic into their neighborhood.

Redstone attorney Dan Hudock said after talking with Mystic Hills residents, project officials came up with restrictive covenants assuring that there would be no roads directly connecting the Redstone expansion with the three roads — Sequoia Court, Arrowhead Court and Apache Lane — that make up Mystic Hills.

The new covenants were little consolation, however, to several residents living along Cline Hollow Road,

Andrew Sites, who lives along a bend on Cline Hollow near Redstone, said he is concerned about emergency-vehicle access to the proposed expansion. While engineers for the project said an emergency access-only road could be built, primary access to the new area would be through the existing Redstone campus.

“I just don’t think it’s safe to tax public services like that,” Sites said.

Other area residents pointed to Murrysville’s own vision plan for the community, which makes multiple to references to the town being characterized by neighborhood development, large lots, wooded areas and open space.

“We didn’t move into Monroeville or Plum,” said Mystic Hills resident Stephanie Wedge. “We moved here for the natural feel of Murrysville. We had concerns about access, and it looks like those were addressed with these covenants. So it’s now up to council to balance what you’ve heard tonight and decide what’s best for Murrysville moving forward.

In addition to nearby homeowners, several Redstone residents also testified at Murrysville council’s public hearing this week.

Carolyn Rogers originally moved her mother to Redstone’s Greensburg location, but after her late husband was diagnosed with dementia, the couple moved in 2018 from Mystic Hills to nearby Redstone.

“We didn’t want to be uprooted from our neighborhood,” Rogers said. “Redstone had facilities for memory care and I could be in independent living. It was just a win-win situation, and the community really does need this type of senior housing.”

If the rezoning request is approved, Redstone officials are proposing a clubhouse and four apartment buildings, each with 26 units. The first phase of the project, the clubhouse and one building, is estimated to cost about $14.1 million. Dixon added that Redstone would not be pursuing tax-exempt status for the expansion, and that it would generate about $215,000 in annual tax revenue for Murrysville.

“We always bought it with the intention of continuing to do human good here in the community,” he said.

Council took no action on the rezoning request following the public hearing.

This story was updated to correct the zoning classification Redstone is seeking.