"Hybrid homes" and a green building plan are part of a $60 million expansion being proposed at Landis Homes in Manheim Township.

The retirement community hopes to add 142 cottages and "hybrid homes," a cross between an apartment and a cottage, that would accommodate about 200 residents.

Construction would begin this fall, if all approvals are received. About 200 residents would move in during three phases, ending in 2012.

The project would be built to the southeast of the existing community, located on about 100 acres off Oregon Road, between the Lititz and the Oregon pikes.

"It's been about 15 years since we expanded residential living," said Larry Zook, Landis Homes' president. "The demand has been there."

Landis Homes has a list of about 800 prospective residents, Zook said. About 650 people live there now.

Those who move into the new complex would pay between $200,000 and $500,000 for a new home, depending on whether they choose a program that refunds their estates after they die.

The expansion would include 72 hybrid homes, in six buildings. Plans for the three-story buildings feature parking on the ground floor, with an elevator leading to two upper floors, each with six "homes."

Each floor features a central lobby, with entrances to the six homes. Each home will have two outside walls, to give it more of a cottage feel, Zook said.

The expansion also will include 70 cottages. All of the cottages and homes in the project will be between 1,200 and 1,600 square feet.

Zook said the retirement community wants to make its expansion environmentally friendly.

For example, the community plans to remove a pond near Oregon Road and restore a nearby stream, called Kurtz Run. The resulting wetland will allow stormwater to seep down into the water table, Zook said, and create a habitat for birds and other wildlife.

The project also will use recycled building products, underground rainwater storage and geothermal energy, which uses the temperature of the Earth, to cool and heat the buildings.

The Lancaster County Planning Commission gave the plan a supportive review Monday, particularly noting its environmental aspects. It suggested the community could tweak its walkways and make the expansion more village-like in its layout.

Zook said the community will examine those suggestions as it moves ahead in the approval process. The plan does not require a zoning change but needs the approval of the Manheim Township Planning Commission, he said. The state Department of Environmental Protection also must approve the flood plain changes.


Staff writer Cindy Stauffer can be reached at cstauffer@LNPnews.com or 481-6024.