Indoor Sports and Recreation Center Proposed in Somers
The new owner of the Somers Manor Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Somers is proposing to construct a sports and recreation center.
The proposal from the Riverside Development Group was unveiled to the public at the February 1 Town Board work session.
Ari Schwebel, president of the Riverside Development Group, said the new 100,000-square-foot building would be constructed on a vacant parcel south of Somers Manor, the skilled nursing facility located on Route 100. The roughly 44-acre property is zoned R-80, which is a residential zone and the project would require a zoning text change from the Town Board, Town Attorney Roland Baroni explained. If the text change was approved, the application would go to the Planning Board if the Town Board determined it would be the lead agency for the environmental review, he said.
The one story, 30-foot-high recreational facility would be divided into two sections. One section would be for an Urban Air Indoor Trampoline & Adventure Park franchise. Schwebel said a variety of activities mainly intended for youths up to the age of 14 are available at the Adventure Parks, including trampoline jumping, a climbing hill, and an obstacle course, he said.
“There’s a major need for these facilities,” Schwebel told the town board.
The other portion of the building would be for athletic fields and/or basketball courts, Schwebel said. The exact sports uses have not yet been determined by his company, he noted. Whatever the sports, the facility would be for that portion of the building would be leased by teams on a weekly basis.
Councilman Thomas A. Garrity, Jr. said he supported the recreation center concept because the local area needed such a facility.
Supervisor Rick Morrissey asked how much it would cost for youths to use the Adventure Parks portion of the building. Schwebel said there are various prices for the use of the facility. For example, two hours of trampoline jumping would cost $20 and the cost would be $40 to use a sky diving tube, Schwebel said.
No date was set last week for when the applicant will be back before the Town Board.
