Retirees donate athletic field to Rye School District

Real Estate Weekly, Feb 2, 1994

In celebration of Pathway 2000, a development plan that will provide the most advanced senior living facilities in Westchester County, The Osborn Retirement Community recently presented the City of Rye with a $125,000 check for a new athletic field and the Rye City School District with a deed for land.

The money will fund the construction of a multi-purpose athletic field at Dishrow Park to compensate for the city's use of an athletic field on The Osborn's grounds that is needed for its planned expansion. The donation of land will give the school district the option of realigning the Boston Post Road access to the Osborn Elementary School or redesigning the school's outdoor recreation areas.

"We wouldn't want the children and adults who have used our ball field over the years to miss a recreation area they've grown accustomed to using on a regular basis," Mark R. Zwerger, Chief Executive Officer, told city and school officials who attended the ceremony. "The people Or Rye can look forward to a new field nearby at Disbrow Park that will be more versatile than the existing one on our property. In addition, we have taken the opportunity of our upcoming expansion to deed to the school district a triangular parcel of land which will allow the Osborn School's Boston Post Road entrance to be relocated and aligned with Sonn Drive. This will make a much safer entrance to the school."

In June 1993, the 86-year-old Osborn Retirement Community received approval from the Rye Planning Commission for Pathway 2000, which includes Sterling Park at The Osborn, a new senior residential community on its 56 acres. Development calls for preservation of more than half of the community's open land, a campus admired for its flowering plants, shade trees and meadows.

The plan for Sterling Park emphasizes high quality living targeted to area retirees who do not require medical assistance. "The concept reflects a trend toward an independent life style that many of today's seniors enjoy," Zwerger said.

Sterling Park will consist of 148 apartments in three new multi-story residences, plus 40 one-story garden homes and a new indoor swimming pool and fitness center. Pathway 2000 also includes a new Skilled Nursing Center with 84 private rooms. This state-or-the-art facility is the first all-private room nursing facility of its size approved in New York State. Once the nursing center opens, 65 one-bedroom rental apartments and 40 assisted living studio apartments will be created by renovating units in the existing Osborn buildings. These would be available for individuals who require a more structured, supportive living arrangement.

Architect Frank Nemeth, senior vice president of Ellerbe Becket of Manhattan and Minneapolis - famous for its historic preservation work - has designed the new Osborn building.s to complement the traditional character of the existing structure.

Phase I of development will include 56 apartments, 26 garden homes plus the new Skilled Nursing Center, the pool and fitness center and renovations to the existing buildings. For Phase II, 92 apartments and 14 garden homes will be built. Prices cannot be released until the state attorney general approves the offering plan.

An Information Center is slated to open March 1, which will include a model one-bedroom apartment and model garden home, furnished and decorated for viewing.

The new athletic field at Disbrow Park will be named "John W. Sterling Field" in honor of Osborn's principal creator and its first president.

The community currently houses 125 seniors. Expansion would increase the housing accommodations at The Osborn to 377.