A row of boarded-up houses along 48th Avenue in Red Deer is slated to be demolished in early May to make way for a six-storey seniors’ apartment complex.
Five of the older homes on the east side of the avenue, between 45th and 46th Streets, have been empty for some months.
The sale of the sixth, still occupied, home has a completion date of April 30, said Doug Mills, the Edmonton-based business development manager for Connecting Care. The company is affiliated with Points West Living, and will be operating the facility.
When all six houses are pulled down in a few weeks, site preparation will begin. Mills said groundbreaking on the $20.5 million project will start in June. The 89-unit apartment building for independent seniors will take about 16 months to build, with an anticipated opening in the fall of 2019.
People age 65 and older are the target demographic. But Mills expects the apartments will be particularly attractive to those age 75 and up, who are still quite independent, since the location is close to the Golden Circle, as well as the recreation centre pool and a downtown stores.
The complex will have no nurse-on-site, or set meal plan — but there will be a nurse-on-call, and an option of ordering food from an attached cafe/restaurant, said Mills. “It’s more of a seniors’ wellness residence,” where tenants will have access to a large fitness room with exercise equipment and space for classes.
There will also be a common room and kitchen for potlucks and large gatherings. “There will be a lot of amenities and social opportunities,” Mills added — as well as underground parking.
The main builder is PK Developments of Edmonton, but Mills said local trades people will be involved.
The building, approved by Red Deer’s Municipal Planning Commission last July, is the first such project in Alberta for Points West Living, which opened a for-profit seniors’ supportive living facility on Taylor Drive in 2016.
Mills stated the new apartments will add to the range of seniors housing options his company provides.
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
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