IGNACE – The Township of Ignace is pleased to announce that the property in which the new seniors housing complex will be built is all clear for construction.
Currently, Ignace doesn’t have a senior housing facility; therefore, the new addition of a full accommodating complex for people 60 and over is a welcomed addition to the Town.
According to Heidi West, the Executive Director of the Mary Berglund Community Health Centre and Chairperson of the senior housing steering committee, “seniors make up around 30 per cent of the community and region’s population demographics.”
And those numbers are rising steadily. Kenora District Services Board 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan indicate that the senior population (65 and over) will increase by 50 per cent by the year 2023, further complicating the region’s existing housing crisis.
For smaller communities like Ignace, which do not have long-term care facilities, seniors must uproot themselves from their hometowns and move closer to central hubs like Thunder Bay to access health care and affordable housing.
West explains, “preliminary results for the KDSB Regional Housing Strategy (2022) further support that Ignace continues to lack affordable housing and “aging in place” is limited. Moreover, seniors continue to worry about being displaced from their community and family once they require home care and/or specialized healthcare.
“This is an important project that will allow our aging population to live in their community and have family support along with having the camaraderie of friends close by,” West said. “The building of this complex is an exciting time for our community.”
According to Ignace’s 20-unit seniors housing complex proposal, the seniors complex will be a 19,425 square foot single-storey complex consisting of 16 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units.
There will be a total number of four two-bedroom units that will meet these accessibility standards in line with CMHC’s National Housing Strategy Minimum Environmental and Accessibility Requirements for New Construction.
The remaining 16 units, common spaces and ancillary programming will comply with barrier-free design.
The one-bedroom units consist of approximately 600 square feet, and the two-bedroom units consist of approximately 876 square feet. Each unit features an outdoor patio area, which adds approximately 60 square feet of living space to each unit.
The complex will also have two common laundry rooms, mobility scooter parking, garbage and recycling collection and additional storage is centrally located.
The paved parking area will include 29 parking stalls for the complex, including five barrier-free stalls. The parking stalls are placed away from the building’s facade to give more privacy to the units and more grass areas.
The outdoor green space at the rear of the building can accommodate raised garden beds.
“The senior housing complex has been needed in the community for some time,” said Mayor Penny Lucas. “This project has been made possible through the combined efforts of the Township of Ignace, Mary Berglund Community Health Centre, Kenora District Services Board, Nuclear Waste Management Organization, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.”
To read the full proposal, click on the link.
