A Grimes property once owned by now-defunct Regency Homes is being considered as the site of a 34-bed skilled nursing facility and continuing care retirement community.

Kansas-based SLC Development Co. LLC is eyeing nearly 12 acres of the Kennybrook Estates development, located south of Iowa Highway 44 and west of Brookside Drive, for the proposed project.

“We don’t have anything like this to serve our senior citizens here in Grimes … and we’re hopeful this project moves forward,” said Brian Buethe, executive director of Grimes Chamber & Economic Development.

On Jan. 29, the State Health Facilities Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Public Health, voted unanimously to grant SLC Development a Certificate of Need (CON), which is required to construct a licensed nursing home in the state, said Barb Nervig, program manager of the state’s CON program.

“The community is definitely very supportive of this type of community,” Nervig said, referring to letters of endorsement received by the council.

Buethe said the state has oversight on allowing the construction or expansion of such a facility, because if there are too many beds in any one area, “at some point (it) can become detrimental to the quality of service provided.”

Grimes is one of the largest cities in Iowa not to offer this type of service, he added.

In addition to the one-story nursing home, with an estimated cost of construction exceeding $4 million, plans for the development include 30 independent living and 28 assisted living apartments and a 12,000-square-foot town center to be shared by all three levels of care.

Gilbert Wood, managing partner of SLC Development, said the project will encompass approximately 70,000 square feet and cost approximately $8 million to complete. About 7 acres of the 11.85-acre parcel will be used for the initial build-out, leaving room for expansion, he added.

Green Belt Bank & Trust conditionally approved financing for the venture on Oct. 22, 2008.

SLC Development has an agreement to purchase the tract from City State Bank, which signed a nonjudicial foreclosure agreement with Kennybrook Townhomes LC on June 30, 2008.

The developer, operating as CCRC of Grimes LLC, expects to obtain approval to construct the heath-care facility from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals within three to six months and hopes to break ground by September.

The build-out could take 10 to 12 months, Wood said.