Duane Hicks
There’s no government funding available for new senior-friendly housing to be built in Fort Frances.
If people want it, they’ll have to invest in it themselves.
That’s the message from a local group of individuals who are gauging residents’ desire for—and willingness to pay for—apartments or condos to be built on property east of Flinders Place here.
Bill Naturkach, Duane Cridland, Dave Beazley, and John Myers have stepped up and currently are conducting a survey to find out if there’s enough interest.
“There appears to be an ongoing need for some sort of senior-friendly living,” Naturkach said during an open house last Thursday evening at the Sister Kennedy Centre.
“We think the need is still there, regardless that there is a lack of public funding and political interest to meet that need,” he noted.
“And in the absence of anyone else stepping forward, we have agreed that we will pursue it for your consideration.
“It’s clear to us that a non-profit is not possible, but obviously a for-profit is possible, and by that, we mean private money—your money,” he added.
Naturkach said he and the others are not involved in this project for personal gain but because no one else is trying to do it.
“We all have ties in the community and we four think we have some skills to, should this project proceed, help this project proceed,” he remarked.
“We are not profit-driven here,” Naturkach stressed. “We’re not trying to do something that anyone of you wouldn’t want to do if you could.
“We are here on behalf of the community, not ourselves.”
Naturkach explained the quartet is picking up on the groundwork laid by Erma Armit and the Assisted Living Action Group, which spent “countless hours” in the past five years pursuing an assisted living project here.
“We four had attended the last few meetings of the A.L.A.G. group,” he noted, adding it folded at the end of July.
“We are not A.L.A.G. but we are aware of what they were trying to achieve,” Naturkach said.
He clarified they are pursuing a senior-friendly project and if assisted living amenities also can be considered, they will roll that into the project.
“But if not, for whatever
reason the assisted-living amenities might not be possible at the onset, at least we’d have a start with a senior-friendly project at the minimum,” added Naturkach.
“I want to thank you guys, from the bottom of my heart, for taking the reins from our A.L.A.G. group and doing what we didn’t have the expertise and the ability to do,” said Coun. June Caul, who has been a strong advocate for senior-friendly accommodations in Fort Frances.
“You know how badly I wanted this especially; I wish my mom had this,” she added.
“Thank you. Thank you, guys for taking this on for us.”
Location
The Flinders Place board of management has agreed in principle to the sale of certain portions of its land subject to certain conditions, one of which is that the complex must be senior-friendly.
The board, however, is not a player in the proposed development.
The site would be east of the Flinders Place apartments run by the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board.
The number of new senior-friendly apartments will depend on the number of people interested. Organizers are estimating they’ll require at least 30 people to invest in the project to make it fly.
Interest will determine whether the project proceeds at all, but also may determine whether assisted-living amenities are going to be possible at all.
Given that a complex would be built on property owned by the Flinders Place board of management, it would bring the number of seniors living in the immediate vicinity to around 100.
This could make it economically feasible to have services such as assisted living, Naturkach noted.
Additionally, the two facilities possibly could share new amenities like food services.
The site is large enough that more seniors’ apartments could be built there if the demand and financial backing is sufficient, added Naturkach.
Conducting survey
Before the group of four takes another step forward, they’ll have to determine how many people are interested in investing in the project.
As such, they’re requesting anyone interested to fill out a survey, which asks:
•whether they want to invest only, rent only, or own and occupy an apartment/condo;
•whether they would like a studio suite, a one- or two-bedroom, an apartment under or over 1,000 sq. ft. in size, or covered parking;
•whether they are prepared to provide a deposit to secure a position on a list;
•whether they’re prepared to provide a deposit when more information on the development is available; and
•for contact information.
Those who were not at the open house can get a survey by calling Naturkach at 274-5987 (he will e-mail you a copy).
Respondents are asked to return the survey in a sealed envelope to Flint House on Scott Street by the end of the day this Friday (Nov. 4).
If there’s plenty of positive survey responses, the four then will move on to the next step, which is to dialogue with the financiers and construction companies to see if they believe that interest is sufficient to proceed, noted Naturkach.
If there’s not much interest, the project will go no further.
Investment necessary
A senior-friendly housing project will need financial investments from the private sector, whether they be people who want to live there or those who want to invest in the building for their loved ones or for profit.
Looking at recent comparable building developments, they have cost $200/sq. ft. to build—and that’s without factoring in amenities like elevators or covered parking, noted Beazley.
“So realistically, we’re probably looking at $225,000-$250,000 to build a 1,000 sq. ft. apartment,” he said.
This cost would be less if the apartment were smaller.
On top of that, there would be monthly operating costs (i.e., utilities, taxes, maintenance, etc.)
The monthly fee for the Riverwalk Condominiums, for instance, is $750 a month, which is being used as a baseline at this point.
“So then if you look at the investment of $200,000-$250,000, the rent that’s going to be required for each of those units is between $1,750 and $1,900 per month,” Beazley said.
He further explained how this cost would break down:
•An individual wants to invest $250,000 to build an apartment.
They go to a bank for financing. The bank wants 35 percent down, meaning the individual would have to deposit $87,500.
•If the remaining $162,500 were financed at seven percent, the cost per month to pay back the bank would be $1,081.
•On top of that, based on what Riverwalk Condominium owners pay for monthly operating costs, would be $750.
That would equal $1,831 per month.
While the intention is to be a “senior-friendly” housing complex, and it definitely will be “100 percent built for seniors,” stressed Cridland, anyone of any age can invest in the project.
These people then could rent out or lease their unit to their older relatives or strangers or, if they choose to, live there themselves.
Cridland added, in fact, that having some non-seniors invest in the project as a real-estate investment probably will be key to its success.
