RIVER FALLS – On June 1, the River Falls Plan Commission voted to forward a positive recommendation to the city council for a proposed senior living and memory care facility development in the 700 block of South Main Street. The block is historically known as the “McEwen block.”

If the project comes to fruition, River Falls Senior Living would include an 84-unit senior and independent living facility with assisted living and memory care, as well as four 55-plus independent living patio townhomes at 706 Sycamore St. (directly behind the facility).

The main senior living building would contain a variety of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. Common amenities would include staff offices, conference rooms, lobby spaces, dining rooms, a full commercial kitchen, a fitness room, entertainment and gathering rooms, a medical consulting room, laundry rooms, a beauty salon, a spa room with therapy tub, and more.

Ebenezer Management Services is the proposed management group for the community. An underground parking lot would house 50 slots, plus a resident storage area. Fortyone onsite parking spaces would be in the outdoor lot.

As for the townhomes, two would be two-bedroom, onecar garage units; the other two would have three bedrooms and two-car garages.

Frisbie Architects LLC owns the 700 block, along with two properties at 660 and 684 S. Main St. Those homes, along with the former McEwen/Linehan house at 702 S. Main St., will be demolished to make room for the project and the realignment of East Park Street with West Park Street. East Park and Sycamore streets will also be rebuilt to city standards. They are currently narrow, rough gravel streets with no curb, gutter, lighting or sidewalks.

In a presentation, City Planner Brandy Howe said the development would meet a market demand for senior housing in the city. Matt Frisbie said the project will include four to six units for low-income seniors. Other perceived benefits are increasing traffic safety by realigning the Park Street intersection with Main and improving parking issues.

The total project, including land purchase and home demolition, is $22 million. The facility would create 35 full-time jobs with wages of $1.6 million annually.

Plan Commission member Patricia LaRue said she’s worried about the traffic impact, considering other proposed developments in the area, including Riverside Cottages on South Main, Peregrine Terrace, the plan to develop Lake Louise, etc.

City Engineer Crystal Raleigh assured her the traffic impact study shows the effect to be minimal. The city is planning to build in an option underground that would allow for a traffic light at the Park/Main intersection in the future, if needed.

Background

In 2017, the McEwen family, who owned the 700 block of South Main for decades, had the alley right-of-way in the middle of the block vacated. Several developers expressed interest in the property, such as Cohen Esrey, which proposed low-to-moderate income multi-family housing. When funding did not come through from WHEDA, the proposal folded.

In 2019, Talon, LLC proposed a 93-unit luxury student living facility; the developer abandoned the project due to economic and design reasons. In summer 2020, city staff began working with Matt Frisbie on the current development proposal.

History

The home at 702 S. Main St. was the long-time home of Judge William McEwen, his wife Maureen and their family. According to River Falls Journal archives, the original part of the home was built in 1868, with an extensive addition added in 1898 by the Michael and Mary (Corcoran) Linehan family, who had bought it in 1891.

Judge McEwen was born in Duluth, Minn., on Oct. 2, 1915 to Charles and Margaret (Linehan) McEwen. After his father died, he and Margaret moved to River Falls, where he graduated from high school. He attended the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and the St. Paul College of Law. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1942-1945 and upon being discharged, he and wife Maureen returned to River Falls, where he had a private law practice until 1968. He also served as the Pierce County Veterans Officer for 21 years beginning in 1947 and was later elected Pierce County judge.

McEwen was well-known for his love of horses and driving a sleigh full of children around the neighborhood. The couple also owned a red house in the 700 block at one time, that was torn down a few years ago. Many River Falls residents fondly remember his horse stable and the playground in the middle of the block, especially the merry-go-round. He died in 2002; Maureen died in 2009.

According to Howe, no negative comments have been received about the proposed project or homes’ demolition.

What’s next?

The Plan Commission voted to forward a positive recommendation for the project’s general development plan to the city council. The project will require many steps and approvals to move it forward.

The developers will host a public hearing onsite at 5 p.m. June 9.

Rendering courtesy of Frisbie Architects LLC

Map courtesy of City of River Falls

Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society

This map shows the configuration of the proposed River Falls Senior Living development in the 700 block of South Main Street. East Park Street would be realigned, and four patio homes would be built on Sycamore Street.

The former home of Judge William and Maureen McEwen, a Queen Anne Victorian located at 702 S. Main St. and built in 1868, will be demolished as part of a proposed senior living development project.