Long Pond seniors housing project is a go

By Craig Westcott

Some big changes have been made to what is perhaps the most anticipated seniors housing development in CBS, but the good news for people hoping to land a spot is that it is finally moving ahead.

Developer Jeremy Caines has scaled down the proposed 60-unit, four-storey high complex he initially envisioned for an area off Rideouts Road near the back of the CBS Library to 40 cottage style units instead.

The project has been making its way through the bureaucracy for over five years with both a waiting list of seniors eager to downsize and get a unit, and a group of local residents who opposed the development because of its proposed height keenly watching its progress. 

During an interview last week, Caines was looking forward to breaking ground on the project within days.

“I fully changed the design,” Caines said, acknowledging the opposition to the building’s proposed height, which included a 22-name petition. “I decided to make something more neighbourhood friendly and keep everyone happy… We’re all approved, the Section 48 permit from (the Provincial Division of) Water Resources is issued, the Town approvals are done, there’s just a few little minor things to clew up, but we’re green-lighted to get going.”

The new plan will see four buildings constructed on a private lane with each building containing between seven and 12 units. The units range from one bedroom apartments, to a bedroom with a den, to two bedrooms.

“So, I’ve got units ranging from 600 square feet up to 1,300 square feet,” Caines said. “I’ve got nine or 10 different layouts and floor plans.”

Caines said there are many people interested in the units and he’s trying to offer as many price points as possible to accommodate their needs. “Some people only want one bedroom, some people want large two-bedroom units,” he said. Thirteen units have one car garages. Most of the units have crawl spaces so that they’ll have their own heated storage. I’m trying to meet everybody’s demands.”

Most of the units will be located on the ground floor, but there will be some available on a higher level.

“I tried to have the roof lines staggered,” Caines said. “So, in each building there’s going to be some units that are going to be top floor. They’re probably going to be a bit harder to rent and that’s reflected in the pricing of them because those units start at $1,350 (per month). That includes the unit, all of your snow clearing, lawn care and maintenance, the whole shebang. But they’re upper-level units, so not overly conducive to seniors. But in order to get that number of units there I had to put in a few that will have some stairs going up for those physically fit, active, 55-plus individuals.”

Caines said the units are going to be “lovely” with granite topped vanities, high end appliances, and heat pumps.

The timeline from construction to occupancy is 18 months, but Caines is hoping to complete them sooner, if possible.

“I don’t think it will be much quicker than that,” he admitted. “There’s a lot of infrastructure work that has to go in, a lot of cut and fill, a couple of buildings will be on rock pads, we’ve got water and sewer of course. There’s a four-foot culvert going in to access the site. There’s a lot of work that has to be done to get it going, but I’m hoping that within 18 months we’ll have the first units ready to be occupied.”

Caines is still pondering a good name for the development. Tulip Gardens is one of the options. He’s also working on getting a site office built and hooked to electricity to avoid the use of generators as much as possible to keep the noise level down for people in the neighbourhood.

Caines has had so much interest in the units he’s decided to award them on a first come – first served basis for those who place deposits.

“I’ve got a lot of names,” he said. “So, I’m going to send out information packages within two weeks, and I’ve been calling everybody on my list since I started (building) seniors’ units nine years ago and getting their emails… and when that package goes out it’s first come, first served. So, whoever puts a deposit on an individual unit, they get that unit. No matter if you’re number 200 on the list or number one, once everybody gets that package at the same time, it’s first come, first served from there, because it’s hard trying to hold units for people, and then calling other people, because there’s such a demand, so I’m just going to do it this route. That’s the way I’ve always done it, and I think to stay consistent is a fair way to do it.”

Caines said the units will strictly be offered on a rental basis with no option for purchase, such as in condominium developments.

“But we’re going to be maintaining them – snow clearing, lawn care, there’s even a complimentary move-in service, so that when people move in we’ll hang their TVs up if they want a wall mounted TV, put up their pictures, we look after all that so when they come in everything is new,” he said. “We’ll install fixed items for them and customize them the best we can within reason.”