BASKING RIDGE, NJ – The Senior Living Fellowship is about to renovate. The Bernards community planning authority last week approved a proposal for the retirement community to build a new fitness center, salon and other recreational facilities.
Under the plan, Fellowship Village would build a two-story building for the new fitness center and salon, and move the current salon and massage services to the new location. Fellowship Village would also add outdoor amenities like hiking trails, a small dog park, and spots for pickleball, bowls, and shuffleboard.
Improvements also include improvements to the Spruce Grove area and Ephesus Pond by adding a 14 by 16 foot deck on the water.
Fellowship Senior Living, a pension association, offers services such as assisted and independent living. Non-residents can also sign up for memberships that allow them to take advantage of certain amenities.
Members of the planning committee asked at the April 6 meeting which of the proposed facilities would be accessible to the public. But the answers weren’t cut and dried. The outdoor areas are not completely closed to the public, but according to CEO Brian Lawrence they are really intended for members.
“We’re not going to sell tickets for the trails or the pond deck,” Lawrence said at the planning committee meeting. “It is available on our website like everything else. We do not invite the public to come in and use it. But guests or residents and visitors with residents can usually take advantage of these additional outdoor activities and amenities.”
But it would be harder for features like the dog park to accommodate the public, he said. The park is small and, according to Lawrence, many independent residents have pets.
“We don’t necessarily want people to go to our campus without us knowing,” he said. “But there are neighbors who live in the area, they come and go for a walk with their dog. We are friendly neighbors.”
The board unanimously approved the plan, but the resolution is non-binding and allows for changes if necessary. The planned hiking trails still require a state environmental permit and the approval of the community committee, as they go through a conservation department.
