Less than a year after pulling the plug on a $52-million seniors-residence project in Parksville, Berwick Retirement Communities has changed its mind and will break ground on the project this month.
Saying only that its initial concerns about a supportive-housing project near the proposed seniors complex had proved unfounded, Berwick has decided to start construction in late March on the 188-unit seniors project.
Berwick founder Gordon Denford said because the City of Parksville now acts as landlord for nearby Orca Place, it has been able to exercise some control over the site. “All in all, the operation is less risk than we expected,” said Denford, adding he anticipates the neighbourhood will continue to improve.
Berwick expects to complete the seniors residence over the next 20 to 22 months at 180 Jensen Ave. East.
Last June, Berwick said it would not go ahead with the project, citing risks to its future residents and employees from the Orca Place supportive-housing project. Denford said there was also a financial risk, as Orca Place could make it difficult to lease out the residence.
The $6.9-million supportive-housing project, funded by B.C. Housing, is home to 52 residents who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and seeking help for mental-health and substance-abuse problems.
The sites sit close to each other on the edge of the city centre.
Chris Denford, Berwick’s chief executive, said the design of the seniors residence will be almost identical to the plans unveiled last year, with one or two minor tweaks.
“We’re excited about this,” he said. “When we cancelled the project, we did look around the community just to see if there were other sites that were appropriate, but we came back to the realization that the site we have is the best location.”
Parksville Mayor Ed Mayne, who last year admitted he had his own concerns about Orca Place, said he was pleased Berwick had changed its mind.
“We are a community-oriented region with an amazing natural environment, a lively arts and cultural scene and we are a safe community to retire or raise a family,” he said in a statement.
The six-storey residence will be Berwick’s eighth retirement community in the province and will offer independent and assisted-living services.
When completed, the project will employ as many as 150 people and house 225 to 250 seniors.
The residence will offer many of the amenities found at Berwick’s other facilities, including a bistro, an English-style pub, private dining rooms, exercise facilities, a full-production theatre and its Tweeds coffee house.
The site originally was going to have a daycare on site, but Chris Denford said they have not made a final decision on that.
He said the look of the building will be a bit of a departure for the company, which just six months ago opened its Qualicum Beach residence.
“This will have more of a beachy feel to it,” he said.
