A patch of land in Parma Heights that has sat empty since a church was torn down in 2015 could soon become the site of a $35 million assisted living facility built specifically for seniors on fixed, lower incomes. Vermilion Development is pursuing plans for Silver Birch of Parma Heights, a three-story, 120-room facility at 11001 W. Ridgewood Drive, the former home of Church in the Woods.
The project is currently working its way through Parma Heights boards and commissions, according to Cleveland.com, which first reported on the proposal. The roughly 95,000-square-foot building would include a courtyard, common areas, associated parking, landscaping, and an on-site stormwater management facility, all situated on the 10.25-acre parcel. Developers have already requested and received a variance from the Parma Heights Board of Zoning Appeals, reducing the brick facade requirement from 100 percent brick down to 25 percent, clearing one hurdle in the approval process.
A Decade of Dead Ends for the Same Lot
The site's vacancy traces back to the demolition of Church in the Woods, formerly Parma Park Reformed Church, which was pastored by Rev. Clinton C. Baker from 1967 to 1995 and once featured an 8,322-square-foot A-frame sanctuary, according to Lakewood Patch. The city rezoned the property to a senior citizen residential district around a decade before this latest proposal, per the Cleveland.com report, positioning it for exactly this kind of use. That earlier push wasn't the first attempt at senior housing on the site, either — back in January 2016, general contractor Jackson Taylor Constructors solicited subcontractor bids for a proposed $10 million to $15 million, four-story memory care and assisted living facility called the Randall Residence, according to ENR Pulse. That earlier project never broke ground, leaving the parcel idle for years afterward.
Parma Heights Service Director Bob Sepik said Silver Birch approached the city about the current project roughly a year before publication, the Cleveland.com report notes. Mayor Marie Gallo described the facility as offering residents more independence than existing Parma Heights senior facilities, per the same account. Neither official could offer residents a firm opening date; Gallo said the timeline would become clearer once approvals are finalized and groundbreaking occurs. Residents have already been asking city officials when the facility will open and whether they can reserve rooms, according to the report.
Why Affordable Assisted Living, and Why Now
Silver Birch's model is built around a specific niche: 100 percent Medicaid-certified affordable assisted living, a structure made more financially viable by Ohio House Bill 33, enacted in 2023, which expanded state support and tax credits for this type of housing. An Ohio Housing Finance Agency project summary notes that assisted living care costs Medicaid roughly half as much as traditional skilled nursing home care, a key driver behind the state's recent push into this sector.
The demand locally appears real. U.S. Census Bureau estimates compiled in 2025 show Parma Heights has 4,121 senior residents, with households led by adults 65 and older earning a median income of just $39,956 — nearly half the $75,150 median earned by residents aged 45 to 64, according to Point2Homes. That income gap helps explain why a capped-cost, Medicaid-waiver model might find traction where traditional private-pay facilities, often running $4,000 to $6,000 a month, would not.
Part of a Broader Ohio Expansion
Parma Heights would join a growing list of Ohio communities getting a Silver Birch facility. In June 2026, Vermilion Development and Silver Birch Living opened Silver Birch of Mansfield, a $38 million, 120-unit development recognized as Ohio's first 100 percent Medicaid-certified affordable assisted living facility, according to the Richland Source. Vermilion is simultaneously advancing similar $36 million to $40 million projects at Silver Birch of Bedford Heights and Silver Birch of Amherst.
Hoodline has previously covered how Vermilion finances these projects — in August, Lake County commissioners approved up to $30 million in tax-exempt conduit bond financing for Silver Birch of Painesville, a 120-unit sister project structured so debt is repaid through project revenues rather than public tax dollars in our Painesville bond coverage. Separately, general contractor The Douglas Company broke ground in December 2025 on Silver Birch Columbus, an $18.2 million, 90,138-square-foot, 120-unit facility financed through the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority and slated for completion in spring 2027. Silver Birch Living currently operates 12 affordable assisted living communities across Indiana, Illinois, and Arizona, with five additional Ohio locations under active development or construction as of mid-2026.
A Tax Base Boost for Parma Heights
For Parma Heights officials, the appeal extends beyond senior housing policy. The former church property has not generated tax revenue for decades, and city officials say the roughly $35 million development would change that once completed. It fits a pattern the city has leaned into recently — in August, Parma Heights celebrated the completion of a $2 million renovation of the long-vacant Heritage Building on Pearl Road into a commercial hub for family-focused businesses, as Hoodline reported in its Heritage Building redevelopment story.
Before any shovels hit the ground at West Ridgewood Drive, the Silver Birch of Parma Heights project still needs additional approvals. City officials have not provided a construction or opening timeline, saying those details will firm up only after the remaining reviews and groundbreaking are complete.
