A ceremonial sod turning was held Wednesday morning at the future site of the Riverbend seniors community beside Ron Brent School.
The project is modelled after two similar facilities in Kamloops and will offer ‘supported’ living in 172 units. 106 of the units will be sold at market value while the remaining 66 will be subsidized by the provincial government and rented to low-medium income seniors.
“Without question, this project and make no mistake about it, is a huge deal for Prince George and it has been in the works now for about a year.” Mayor Lyn Hall said
Hall says the City reached out to the project developer near the beginning of his term to gauge interest for a project like Riverbend. The Mayor says he was impressed with the two facilities in Kamloops and knew it would be a great fit for PG.
“We talk a lot about retaining young people in Prince George, but I think the second focus to match the young people staying in Prince George is the fact that we want seniors to stay in PG.” said Hall
In addition to the provincial funding, the City of Prince George is chipping in with tax incentives and housing grants, something that impressed developer Frank Quinn with A&T Ventures.
“We do business in a lot of municipalities in BC, nobody is open for business like Prince George.”
“The innovative solutions that were created to make this project viable through the City are as good as we’ve ever seen anywhere and as a community, you should understand how unique it is to do business in Prince George.”
Once complete in late 2017, the facility will be operated by the Oncore Seniors Society out on Kamloops. Manager of Housing Cindy Linton says they will be hiring about 25 local staff to run the home.
“The supports that are provided are three meals a day, two coffee breaks and tea in the afternoon as well as housekeeping and recreation.”
She notes that beyond the meals and housekeeping, residents will be living completely independently, adding that the mixture of subsidized housing and market units benefit each other.
“We benefit in the supported living side because we have common areas we may not be able to afford otherwise, and people in the independent suites who purchase can benefit because they can join the dining room, come for dinner and access housekeeping or other things they might not have without us here.”
The market units appear to be selling well, with Frank Quinn stating they sold 18 before even breaking ground.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
