Wickham Farms in Penfield to move; senior housing project planned in its place

Wickham Farms in Penfield, known for its fall activities, corn maze, fresh produce and community supported agriculture program, will be moving operations down the road.

In its place, a local developer is looking to build a senior housing complex.

The plan is for Home Leasing Inc. and Episcopal SeniorLife Communities to develop the 9.5-acre parcel with a senior residential housing complex that includes commercial space and a public dining area, said Penfield Supervisor Tony LaFountain.

The site is on the west side of Route 250, next to the Eastside YMCA and nearly a mile north of Whalen Road.

The 162-unit project is scheduled to be introduced to the town's Planning Board Thursday evening at the Town Hall, 3100 Atlantic Ave., Penfield. At the meeting, developers will outline their plans for the parcel, said Penfield's director of engineering and planning, Mark Valentine.

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Planning board members are simply learning about the proposed plans and viewing sketches of the potential project. Nothing will be approved on Thursday, he said.

The plan currently calls for the construction of two residential buildings — one that will include 96 independent senior living apartments and another that will include 66 rooms for assisted living and memory care residents, Valentine said. A bridge will connect the two buildings.

The smaller residential building will include a first-floor restaurant that will be open to the public, Valentine said. Two one-story commercial buildings are also planned for the property. No tenants have been secured for either site.

Buildings in the complex will range from one to four stories.

Plans for the project call for a pedestrian-friendly parcel to include a public green, bike paths and walkways. With the YMCA next door, the proposed project appears to offer an attractive location for active seniors. The YMCA offers a variety of senior program and houses a University of Rochester Medical Center office that offers wellness and health care services.

Valentine said the project will need to be approved by the town before any construction can begin. Thursday is simply the introduction to the proposed plan.

No cost estimate or timeline was provided for the project, Valentine said.

Moving Wickham Farms

Bill Wickham, who owns and operates the popular farm with his wife, Deb, said the farm's 9.5-acre property on Route 250, will remain open and operational through the 2018 season.

In 2019, he said, Wickham Farms will be based at its 120-acre property nearby on Sweets Corners Road.

"This gives us the opportunity to focus on and highlight the farm and to make it a better experience for folks who come out to the farm," he said. "In a lot of ways, this will be better than operating two separate properties. We've really done as much as we can do on the (Route) 250 site."

Wickham Farms opened in 1986 as a part-time pumpkin patch, opened a retail market in 2005 and started operating its CSA in 2011.

Currently, the Wickham property on Route 250 includes the farm's retail market, CSA/special events building, a jumping pillow, corn maze and farm animals. There's also a small train for young children, a miniature golf course and a playground.

Sweets Corners Road is already home to the farm's U-Pick fields for CSA members, apple orchard and sunflower field. It's also the spot where the farm hosts hayrides each fall. Produce covers the remaining acreage.

Wickham said he is not yet sure if the family will move buildings currently standing on the Route 250 property to Sweets Corners Road or if new structures will need to be built on the mixed-use parcel.

Features including the jumping pillow, train and playground will be moved to the new site.

Wickham said he was first approached in 2016 to sell the parcel along Route 250. The family reached an agreement with the buyer last fall but will not sell the property until after the 2018 season, November at the earliest.

"Someone came along," he said. "This wasn't something we were actively looking for but it makes sense" since the parcel is filled with activities, with no more room to expand its offerings. On fall weekends, the farm is jam-packed and patrons spill into the adjacent YMCA lot.

Under the current plan for the senior housing development, the shared driveway with the Eastside YMCA will remain but may need to become a dedicated road, Valentine said.

The Wickham parcel on Route 250 is zoned as mixed-use. It's among about 350 acres between the YMCA and Penfield Center Road that in November was rezoned from its residential status, LaFountain said. The Wickhams had a variance to operate its farm market on the site.

Both projects will require approval from Penfield's planning board before any construction can begin, Valentine said.

VFREILE@Gannett.com