The provincial and federal governments are investing about $9.12 million into York Creek Lodge in Blairmore.
“I think its going to make everybody a lot happier because its going to double the size of their rooms,” Susan Demchuk, York Creek Lodge operations manager of the investment.
On July 28, the governments of Canada and Alberta announced a combined investment of some $47 million to help seniors in need of affordable housing. Five seniors’ lodges in Alberta will receive funding to build new or renovate existing units, including York Creek Lodge.
York Creek Lodge administration met representatives from Municipal Affairs last week who said 28 new units will be built, while the existing 49 units will be converted into 24 units for a net gain of three units, said Demchuk.
First an extension will be built onto the lodge. Once completed, residents will be moved from one part of the lodge into the extension, ensuring residents won’t be displaced, said Demchuk. Then the rooms in the original structure will be renovated.
The investment will mean much more living space for the lodge’s 58 residents whose room sizes will increase from 190 to about 380 square feet.
“We’re looking forward to getting it done. Once they break ground with the new edition, that’s when all the fun starts,” said Demchuk.
Opened in 1980, York Creek Lodge was built by the Alberta Housing Corporation and managed by The Pass Foundation. Its room sizes were standard for the 1970s but they don’t accommodate the age and physical disabilities of some of the seniors, said Demchuk.
“The size of a room is not conducive to having a walker or a wheel chair,” she said. “When you put in a bed, a television, a dresser and a reclining chair, there’s not much room for anything else.”
Trent Bancarz, spokesperson for Municipal Affairs, said tenders for construction will be issued in the spring and that it should take two years to complete the project.
The lodge’s expansion is part of an investment in affordable housing agreement, which was in effect from 2011 to 2014.
Bancarz said York Creek was selected based on the condition of the current building and its limited capacity and that the larger living units are part of a more modern standard.
The province is contributing about $5.2 million to the project with the rest coming from the federal government.
According to a federal and provincial release, seniors’ lodges in Rimbey, Lamont, Magrath and Cold Lake are receiving similar investments.
In total, the seniors’ lodges will receive $40 million in joint funding from the governments of Canada and Alberta with an additional $7.56 million in funding from the province through Alberta Social Housing Corporation surplus earnings, for a total of $47.56 million, says the release.