A St. Albert housing complex originally conceived as a high-end adult facility is now being marketed as a moderately priced retirement development for the 55-plus crowd.
Lions Village of Greater Edmonton Society has bought the site at 2 Inglewood Dr. and shifted the project from luxury to affordability by increasing the number of units to 120 from 88. The property is currently an unused parking lot adjacent to the Canadian Tire store.
The L-shaped complex will have one section that’s six storeys tall and another that’s five storeys, said Alan Bissonette, chair of the Lions Village Of Greater Edmonton Society, a non-profit that operates three other independent living facilities in Edmonton.
“Based on the response that we’re getting and the fact that we’ve got a four-year waiting list for our other projects, there’s a significant demand,” he said.
The units will range in value from about $257,000 to $389,000.
Rather than employing a straight purchase or rental transaction, the Lions use a life-lease model which has residents provide a loan to the Lions for a percentage of the value of their unit. The amount of the loan determines the subsequent monthly payments — the higher the equity, the less the payments and vice versa.
When residents want to leave, they provide notice and get back an amount that can range from 97 per cent to 100 per cent of what they put in, depending how long they stay, Bissonette said.
“It’s become one of the most beneficial forms of tenure,” he said.
The organization has applied for a development permit from the city. It expects to start construction in September and have people moving in by late spring 2011.
Amenities at Lions Village Inglewood will include a staff nurse who will help residents access health services in the community, wine-making facilities, beauty salon, gathering room, computer rooms, libraries, woodworking and craft shops, games rooms and exercise amenities.
“The intent of the Lions Village is still independent living. It’s not assisted living,” Bissonette said.
The building had originally been conceived as a luxury 88-unit complex. Its development partners were marketing it as The Venue.
“It’s tough to sell a high-end luxury product in today’s economic climate,” said Edmonton architect James Der, one of the partners who decided to sell to the Lions after gauging demand.
“We really found this is what everybody was telling us they wanted,” Der said. “We switched horses largely in response to what people were asking for.”
The Lions bought the property and then hired Der to alter his original plan to accommodate more units, Bissonette said.
City council rezoned the parcel last year to medium/high density residential, also referred to as R4. This zoning mandates that the density be between 94 and 141 units per hectare.
At 0.87 hectares, the site would yield a density of 137.6 units per hectare when built out with 120 units.
With more units than originally proposed, the project will have a higher density and may generate more property tax revenue for the city, which are potential benefits, said Mayor Nolan Crouse.
“What I want to make sure, though, is that things like parking and traffic are dealt with properly,” he said.
Bissonette said the project will meet the parking and other guidelines that are defined within the parameters of R4 zoning.
