SUNDERLAND — More housing will soon be coming to Old Amherst Road with the approval of an eight-unit apartment building that will revitalize the former Cozy Corner nursing home.

The Planning Board unanimously approved both the site plan and special permit Thursday evening, as Jason Kicza, who runs Lamplight Property Management, and attorney Tom Reidy presented their vision to revitalize the former nursing home at 61 Old Amherst Road. The plan also includes turning the existing single-family home next door, at 67 Old Amherst Road, into a multi-family dwelling.

Lamplight Property Management also runs Pioneer Valley Apartments less than a quarter-mile down the street from Cozy Corner, as well as several other properties in the area. Kicza purchased the property in 2021 through Old Amherst Road LLC.

“This is a terrific reuse and revitalization of a property, that, in my opinion, is ripe for such redevelopment,” Reidy said, noting the buildings’ footprints won’t change. “What you see is what you get; the structures aren’t changing.”

Kicza explained the former nursing home, which has been vacant since 2018, will remain the same structurally, although its roof needs to get replaced and they’ll spruce it up. Cozy Corner and the house next to it sit on an approximately 10-acre lot and Kicza said they will likely leave the vast majority of the land as green space.

“At one point that property probably presented really well and it was kind of let go,” he said. “Neat and clean is what we’re going for there. It’s mostly minor aesthetics to clean everything up and make it presentable from the street.”

In total, the Cozy Corner will have eight units, with four four-bedroom units, two three-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units. Reidy explained that while there will be 26 beds in total, that is actually much fewer than the 56 beds the nursing home had when it was in operation.

While there were few concerns about the property from the Planning Board, its members did note that there may not be enough parking on the site if every single person living there had a car.

Kicza said they’ve hardly had issues at other properties, like Pioneer Valley Apartments, as the folks who live there are typically a mix of college students, families and young professionals, so not everybody has their own vehicle. Additionally, Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) has a bus stop down the street.

Another concern was a pull-off in front of the building that board members worried may lead to vehicles being parked in front of the building or possibly on the street.

To allay the Planning Board’s minor concerns, Kicza and Reidy agreed to conditions that they would add more parking behind the building if the current lot couldn’t accommodate tenants and that they will remove the portion of the pull-off up to their property line, while working with the Department of Public Works and public safety officials.

Neighborhood residents had few concerns, but Zoning Board of Appeals Chair and direct abutter Steve Krol shared some of the ones the Planning Board members had, while also noting he’s worried that too many students in the building might lead to noise. Kicza said they vet their tenants well and have had few issues.

“I think the impacts will hopefully be minimal, but I’m in favor of this,” Krol said. “I trust that Mr. Kicza will execute it exceptionally.”

The application was also the first test of the town’s amended structure conversion bylaw, which was approved at the spring Annual Town Meeting. The revised bylaw allows buildings existing prior to 1978 with an area of more than 10,000 square feet to be converted into multi-family dwellings with up to eight units. This project in particular was one of the reasons why the Planning Board advocated for the change, as only 33 properties in town fit the definition. Cozy Corner was built in 1953, according to the town’s property card for the lot.

Following the two-hour discussion, the Planning Board unanimously approved both the site plan and the special permit.

The board did, though, place six conditions on the permit, which include: removing the portion of the pull-off in coordination with town public safety departments, expanding the parking lot if more capacity is needed, expanding the lot if the Fire Department needs more room for equipment, signs must comply with the town’s regulations, contact information must be easily visible, and the building must comply with all applicable building and sanitary codes.

Kicza said they expect to get started on work right away once the appeal period ends.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.