Members of Bridges Community Living, Chandos Construction, and Red Deer City Council, including Mayor Tara Veer, joined Minister of Seniors and Housing - Josephine Pon on Friday for a tour of the new seniors housing project currently under construction on 30 Street to replace the Piper Creek Lodge nearby. (rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By Sheldon Spackman

Construction Update

New Red Deer seniors lodge slated for completion next spring

Jan 31, 2020 | 3:40 PM

A project to replace the oldest seniors lodge in Alberta is expected to be finished in just over a year from now.

On Friday, Minister of Seniors and Housing, Josephine Pon, told residents of the Piper Creek Lodge in Red Deer, that construction on a new and independent affordable housing facility to replace the Lodge is progressing quickly.

“I am pleased to see this new facility is ahead of schedule. Not only will this project replace Alberta’s oldest lodge with a more modern, spacious version, seniors will be able to more easily access increased levels of care, reducing their stress and improving their quality of life.”

Pon notes the project at 4736 30 Street has created 204 jobs, and will double the number of affordable seniors housing units from the current 45 at Piper Creek Lodge to 90 units at the new facility.

Mayor Tara Veer (left), and Bridges Community Living board chair Steve Christie (right), joined Josephone Pon, Minister of Seniors and Housing (centre) at the Piper Creek Lodge on Friday to provide a construction update for residents on how the new facility nearby on 30 Street to replace the Lodge is progressing. (rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

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Government is investing $28.3 million to replace Piper Creek Lodge.

In 2015, the former PC government announced $12.2 million to replace the 65-unit lodge, with the following NDP government announcing in March, 2018, another $250,000 for its replacement.

Officials with Chandos Construction say the building’s foundations are now installed, with pre-fab wood walls up on the first floor, framing underway on the second floor, and concrete pours for the basement in progress as well.

Once complete, the new three-storey facility will allow seniors to access additional care without having to move.

Mayor Tara Veer says the project is a long-standing infrastructure need in the community, and will offer a new and modern ‘best-practices’ facility for its residents, in addition to repurposing the former Red Deer Nursing Home site.

“Affordable housing for seniors in Red Deer and central Alberta is critical to ensuring our citizens can continue to live and age near their friends and family in the city they call home,” adds Tara Veer, Mayor for the City of Red Deer. “The Piper Creek Lodge is the oldest lodge in Alberta, and with this funding from the Government of Alberta, local seniors are assured a continuum of options that will meet their needs as they age. This project has been a vision many years in the making, and the city supports it becoming our community reality.”

Bridges Community Living operates the 1956-built Piper Creek Lodge, with board chair Steve Christie noting the 1-bedroom suites at the new facility will have enough room for family and friends to visit residents.

“We are very excited to see the development of the new lodge moving along so quickly. This is a testament to the partners involved, and their commitment to seniors housing.”

Of the new facility’s 90 units, 25 are said to be for independent residents, while the remaining 65 will have access to additional services, such as housekeeping and meals.

Residents are expected to begin moving into the new facility in spring 2021.

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