If everything falls into place, an additional 40 units may be in the future for Hillcrest Lodge.
Hillcrest Chief Administrative Officer Dorothy Clarke said the project is in the very early stages of development, and she cannot get any grant funding without support from municipalities or Alberta Health Services. As such, she is making presentations to municipalities to secure letters of support, and then she will have to meet with Alberta Health Services to get a letter from them. Without those letters of support, grant funding isn’t even a possibility, she said.
“We completed our marketing study, and now we are seeking letters of support,” she said. “Then we can apply for the grants. Deadlines are usually toward the end of September, and there are two grants available for the project: the ASLI grant and the Housing Capital Initiatives grant.”
In the provincial budget, the government set aside $75 million for ASLI grant, and $100 million for the Housing Initiative Grant, she said.
That being said, last year, there was $181 million worth of proposals made to the Housing Initiative fund, but only $100 million was given out.
It may take more than one application to secure the grants, but without letters of support, that’s a moot point, she said
“I don’t foresee any difficulties in securing letters of support from our municipalities, but it does have to be approved by the various councils,” she said. “I have yet to meet with Alberta Health Services.”
The recommendations of 40 new units over the next 10 to 15 years was identified in a needs assessment conducted last year by Rick Beaupré and Associates. Visits were made to Swan Hills, Fort Assiniboine and Barrhead, and the report was issued in October. Clarke said she also made the presentation to Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Kew Kowalski.
Hillcrest is regulated by a management body with representation from the different municipalities in the area including the Town and County of Barrhead, Woodlands County, the Town of Swan Hills and M.D. of Big Lakes, and there is also one member at large on the board.
Hillcrest houses 131 Lodge suites and 78 Manor or self-contained units. County Councillor Darrell Troock, who is chairperson of the Barrhead and District Social Housing Association, said the plan would be to remove the U wing and build the new units there.
The project would see the addition of 40 new assisted-living rooms to the facility. Furthermore, the kitchen would be upgraded to meet the demands of the increase in residents. There has been a waiting list at the Lodge for years, Troock said, and there are seniors who are in independent living situations at the manor, and they need a bit more support in their day-to-day lives.
“They need to be in our lodge,” Troock said. “The new units will be in the range of 450 to 475 square feet. Our Klondike Place will be paid off January of next year, and the monies we put toward that can be redirected to help fund the construction of the new units. That probably won’t even happen until at least 2012 or even 2013, and there’s a lot of legwork to be done before anything can even get off the ground.”
Clarke said once she gets the letters of support from all sources, she would present the full project to the public.
.jpg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
