Groundwork laid for new Melfort retirement home

Lutz said Caleb will soon start to market some of the 94-units that will eventually be available.

“These properties are a combination of rental units and condominiums for sale … they offer in the facilities full hospitality services,” he said.

Rental units will be an all-inclusive package which includes full meal service, light housekeeping, recreational activities, transportation to appointments and 24 hour staffing.

For the ownership units, buyers have the option of purchasing those services or choosing not to.

“For a retired couple they can move in the property and live completely independent but should they every get to the point where they would find it beneficial to have these services they can have their housekeeping, meals and that kind of stuff taken care of for them for a fee,” Lutz explained.

He said buyers can also pick and choose which services they’d like to have, for example, owners can choose to have meals prepared for them every Friday and cook for themselves the rest of the week.

The tentative plan is to have construction begin this fall with the hopes to have the project take 15 months to complete.

“The property is bare land currently, it’s adjacent to an existing residential development and right next door to a local church, so we will have to subdivide that property and create streets and so forth to access the property.”

Lutz said the first step is to complete the subdivision and get approval for the rezoning to allow for a multiunit development.

It should take the city a couple of months to get approval and in the meantime Caleb will be advertising the project and signing up interested people.

One big benefit to the construction is that it will help create 50 to 75 jobs for tradespeople.

Once completed the Caleb Village Retirement Community will be able to employ 30 to 40 people in various full time, part time and casual positions.

“Because of the nature of the project and the services that are offered … it requires quite a few people to operate the facility.”

Lutz said the City has been looking for a project like this for over four years because they’ve heard from the public there’s a need for seniors housing.

Oftentimes, as the population ages, many are put into institutions because there aren’t any local options, he pointed out.

“This type of housing allows people to maintain their independence, live on their own, they’ve got neighbours, security, they have 24-hour staffing in the building and they can be assured that if they aren’t able to make wholesome meals they are able to receive them there.”

Lutz said without that option in Melfort if someone was looking for that type of living option they would have to pick up from the community that they’ve known and lived in and move somewhere else.

Another benefit with the construction of the 94-unit building is when a number of community members move into the building that will open up housing units for future Melfort residents.

“This will have a beneficial effect on the housing market in the community as far as providing more available housing for people. Right now our rental market is pretty much full so if some of those rental units (in the community) open up then people will be able to find the rentals that they want.”

swallace@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahthesquid

by Sarah Wallace

Groundwork laid for new Melfort retirement home

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