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Windsor House progresses forward after governmental approvals
By ROBERT CONNELLY
CANFIELD
Now that Mahoning County commissioners have signed off on an agreement for a proposed nursing facility, architectural plans will be finalized in the coming months.
Commissioners signed off on the joint economic development district, or JEDD, between Canfield Township and Canfield City on June 22 for a proposed Windsor House. That agreement is for 18.6 acres that is surrounded by the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm on three sides and sits along state Route 446.
The JEDD says the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office will police the area, and the city and township already share the Cardinal Joint Fire District.
The city will provide water and sewer lines to the 72-bed Windsor House facility that will bring between 72 and 80 jobs to Canfield. Construction has been estimated at $10 million to $12 million. The township would collect real-estate taxes, while the city would collect income tax from the owner and employees. That would be at the city’s current income-tax rate of 1 percent.
Canfield city voters have a half-percent income tax before them on the Aug. 4 special-election ballot.
Canfield and Mahoning County officials believe it is the first JEDD in the county.
“I’m elated that we finally have a JEDD between two Mahoning County communities,” said David Ditzler, Mahoning County commissioner. “I worked for a long time in Austintown trying to form one with Youngstown, and it never happened.”
“I think that’s quite an achievement for the county and the city and the township,” said John Masternick, Windsor House owner. “The hardest part is out of the way.”
Now he is applying for a certificate of need application through the Ohio Department of Health. That is expected to take six to eight months.
“While we’re going through that process, we’ll be developing our plans with our architect,” he said. Masternick currently expects to break ground next spring and that it takes 12 to 13 months from breaking ground to obtaining an occupancy permit to open.
“Sometimes it takes time to get these things accomplished,” Masternick said. “I know some of our nursing homes have taken five years to make.”
Masternick said hiring of staff for the nursing facility would be done three to six months before it opened. He said he has found “it’s best to have people from our own organization staff those” administrative and supervisor roles “because they understand the Windsor House culture, our procedures.”
Canfield City Manager Joe Warino and Canfield Township Administrator and Road Superintendent Keith Rogers have been applying for grants to help with running waterlines to Masternick’s property. “We’re extremely grateful for that,” Masternick said of those potential grant dollars. “Actually getting sewer and water to the site with state dollars really benefits all the people in this area.”
He further said once the plans are drawn for where “the building will be positioned, it will certainly help before we start running water and sewer lines.”