The Watch
LATITUDE
OFFICIALS, START YOUR SHOVELS Dignitaries do their requisite building site duties in Coleman in Crowsnest Pass. From left are Elena Salikhov of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Crowsnest Pass Senior Housing Chair Joanne Drain, Crowsnest Pass Mayor Blair Painter, and Banff- Cochrane MLA Cam Westhead.
A BOOM IN ALBERTA’S ELDERLY POPULATION SPURS HOUSING AND CARE PROJECTS
Alberta’s population of seniors continues to grow faster than any other age group. Back in 2005, the province hadn’t even crossed the 350,000 threshold in the plus-65 crowd. As of April 2018, 575,000 Albertans were senior citizens. And that number is expected to double within the next two decades, says the Government of Alberta. Many of those seniors, obviously, are going to need dedicated housing in their province of choice. Much of that exploding demand will have to be met by new housing and care projects, and some significant ones are currently planned or underway in the public and private sectors. In northeast Alberta, for instance, construction has begun on the $110-million Willow Square
Continuing Care Centre. The public facility in Fort McMurray, designed by S2 Architecture and being built by Pomerleau Inc., will create 108 badly needed spaces for seniors who require supportive living, long- term care, and palliative care. About four and a half hours south as the car drives, the province is moving ahead with redeveloping CapitalCare Norwood, a $364-million reinvention of an existing public facility in Edmonton for continuing and palliative care. The project, expected to wrap up in 2022, will increase the number of post-acute, complex, long-term care beds and palliative care beds to 350 from 205. In Calgary, construction has started on a 240-unit seniors’ residence in the University District.
For the 240,000-square-foot private facility, West Campus Development Trust has partnered with the Brenda Strafford Foundation, a not- for-profit that supports dementia care and research. Estimated construction cost is $38 million. In the southwest corner of the province, construction has begun on a $17.1-million seniors’ lodge. This one is part of the federal government’s $40-billion, 10-year plan to create 100,000 new housing units and 300,000 new rehab units for seniors across Canada. The lodge, in Crowsnest Pass, will provide 61 supportive-living units and 24 units for seniors needing specialized dementia care. The Government of Alberta’s share of the project is $6.4 million.
WINTER 2018 PEG | 31
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