Duane Hicks
A developer is looking to use riverfront property east of the Riverwalk Condominiums to build townhomes—but that doesn’t mean assisted living won’t ever happen here.
Town council passed an agreement of purchase and sale with Thunder Bay-based Syncor for the Front Street property last month, and a billboard promoting Edgewood Townhomes appeared at the site late last week.
News of the town selling the land has upset some local residents, who were hoping the property would be used for the future site of an assisted living facility.
But Coun. June Caul and Diane Maxey said A.L.A.G. is regrouping, rethinking, and not giving up.
“There’s no doubt about it, our group was disappointed we weren’t able to secure that Front Street property,” admitted Maxey.
“I was hoping it would be kept with the possibility of us being able to procure money [to build a facility],” echoed Coun. Caul.
“That’s the big thing—we’ve come to so many roadblocks financially,” she added.
Maxey said Syncor is willing to give A.L.A.G. suggestions for building and financing, and will have a meeting with the group.
She added the group has a short-list of alternate sites it has pursued in the past and will continue to do so.
“We need to secure a site and we need to get finances,” Maxey stressed.
Both Coun. Caul and Maxey said the new facility would be designated as a “55+ facility,” and not “assisted living.”
It would be a place where seniors could live and enjoy amenities like a dining room and laundry services, said Coun. Caul.
Those who lived there could get medical care and personal services (i.e., medication help, help getting dressed, help taking a bath, etc.) through pre-existing home-care providers, she added.
“We’ve got people in place here who actually go to homes now to do that,” Coun. Caul noted.
“If we had a building, they could come to one building and do all that work.
“That would save a lot of time, a lot of running around,” she reasoned.
Maxey said building a proper assisted living facility means following certain strict guidelines which drive up costs. It’s more feasible to build a 55+ facility and go from there.
“We would start small and build into it,” she added. “But we would still have some assisted living services.”
Rebranding the project as a 55+ facility also helps emphasize the point that many people who would live there don’t need assistance all the time.
Rather, most are capable of independent living and only may need help with some aspects of their lives.
Both Coun. Caul and Maxey said the biggest factor remains finding someone to finance the building of a 55+ facility here.
“What we’re attempting to do now is to pursue financial assistance and kind of go in another direction,” revealed Maxey.
“Our group has worked tirelessly, even before I came on board three years ago, and we are going to try and bring this project to fruition.
“We don’t have any intention of stopping,” she vowed. “We really feel the need for this in Fort Frances.
“We don’t want people to think that just because this Front Street property didn’t work out that it means this project is not going to happen,” Maxey added.
“We’re going to work so diligently.”
Maxey stressed they need to make everyone realize that if they don’t need assisted living today, they (or a loved one) will need it some day.
“I would love in a few years to move out of my home and not have snow shovel, not have to mow the grass, and be able to move into a place where I could lock the door and go away on a trip if I want,” she mused.
“Everybody’s going to be 55 if they’re not already,” she reasoned. “There’s ‘snowbirds’ who love to go away.”
Maxey also noted seniors would be able to live in Fort Frances and not have to move away to Thunder Bay or Winnipeg.
She added some people have moved away and come back because they didn’t like being away from their family, friends, and hometown.
Others continue to live elsewhere but are unhappy because they want to come back here.
“We’ve got to band together,” Maxey said. “If people have ideas, join us. Come be part of our membership.
“Many minds make light work,” she added.
“We can put our ideas together and move forward on this because this really does need to move forward, and it needs to move forward quickly.”
Maxey said some people expect town council to put up money to build an assisted living facility here, but that’s out of the question.
“Town council doesn’t have that money. That’s your money and my money,” she stressed, adding raising taxes to help build a 55+ facility “is not the way to go.”
“We actually need someone to come in and finance this project,” Maxey explained.
“That’s what we’re looking for—different avenues to finance it.”
For more information on A.L.A.G.’s activities and how to get involved, call Maxey at 274-7309.
As for the townhouses, Mayor Roy Avis said Syncor will host open houses down the road.
“We’ve been working with them [Syncor] for quite some time and there’s conditions in the offer to purchase that designate the process they have to go through for a certain type of housing—be it assisted living or just strictly apartments or condominiums,” he explained Monday.
“They’re going to have open houses here, and try to find out how to best meet the needs of the community and what’s affordable,” added Mayor Avis.
He noted Syncor came to the town wishing to put townhomes on the property, and council directed Syncor to explore all avenues, including making contact with A.L.A.G.
