Developers of state-of-the art nursing care facilities submitted a letter to the town of Damariscotta planning board on Monday, sharing their desire to build a 102-bed facility in Damariscotta.

The facility, named Clippership Landing, will be located on Piper Mill Road. Residents from Cove’s Edge Nursing and Skilled Rehabilitation on LincolnHealth’s Miles campus as well residents from the Zimmerli Pavilion and the Gregory Wing at St. Andrews Village in Boothbay Harbor will transition to this home once it is built.

“We feel the name is fitting for the town considering its rich shipbuilding history,” wrote Daniel Maguire, managing partner of Sandy River Company, one of the partners in the project. “The proposed development will be a place of residence for people who require 24-hour nursing care as well as assistance performing activities of daily living.”

Unlike the current nursing care facilities, Clippership Landing will have all private bedrooms, only the second such nursing center in Maine. Sandy River Company is currently building the state’s first all-private bedroom nursing home in Rockland.

LincolnHealth officially entered into a study with Sandy River Company in June of 2021 to assess the viability of building a new nursing care facility in Damariscotta. LincolnHealth President Cindy Wade said the goal was to assure availability for high quality nursing in Lincoln County for years to come. Many nursing facilities have closed due to inadequate reimbursement, lack of staffing, aging facilities and restrictive regulations.

“Our nursing care facilities have not been immune to financial losses and regulatory pressures,” Wade said. “We do not want Lincoln County residents to travel multiple hours to see loved ones, so we began reviewing all options to keep care close to home.”

Sandy River Company is a highly respected, for-profit senior care development firm based in Portland and is currently working with MaineHealth on several nursing care projects. It has nearly 40 years of experience designing and developing senior care centers with a special focus on creating more home-like environments to replace the older style nursing homes. North Country Associates, an experienced nursing care provider which operates more than 25 homes, will run the day-to-day operations, while LincolnHealth will appoint a Medical Director.

The project still needs approval through Maine’s Certificate of Need process as well as Damariscotta planning board approval.

All 102 licensed beds will be eligible for MaineCare and Medicare reimbursement and all major Medicare alternatives plans and commercial insurance products will be accepted.

LincolnHealth continues to pursue how best to utilize the space at St. Andrews Village and at Cove’s Edge when it is vacated.

“We remain committed to the Boothbay region and we will use the space to meet the healthcare needs of the community,” Wade said.

Initial discussions about this project will be at the Damariscotta planning board meeting on Aug. 1.