The housing co-operative Lions Manor 55 is inching closer to making their dream of a 33,000-square-foot senior living complex a reality.
During the organization’s Sept. 26 annual general meeting at the Ma-Mow-We-Tak Friendship Centre, the board of directors said that they expect to have this two-story, 30-unit facility built and occupied by the summer or fall of 2018.
However, in a later conversation with the Thompson Citizen, project manager Curtis Ross said it is more realistic to expect an early 2019 completion date.
“Project wise we are on schedule for the foundation,” Ross said at the Sept. 26 meeting. “We’d like to get all the concrete work, or as much of the concrete work, done before we have to start heating concrete. If we can get up on to the main floor level sometime in early November that’ll save a lot of cost in heating and hoarding.”
He later went on to say that the site is going to feature “a lot of green space on the back side of it and towards the one side of it, so I look forward to see it rise out of the ground effectively. “
Even though construction is proceeding steadily since they broke ground in early July, Lions Manor 55 still facing a number of obstacles, including the fact that they still need to fill around 30 per cent of their units.
“I don’t think this project is really a reality for people yet because it’s not above ground enough to see,” said Penny Byer, the co-operative’s treasurer. “And I anticipate that Curtis’s words will ring true and that as the building is raised so is the interest.”
Byer also mentioned that they still have a considerable amount of fundraising to do in order to make sure that their operation is sustainable once people move in.
The real groundwork for this housing project was laid back in 2013, when Thompson city council voted to put aside a portion of land on Station Road for residential development. Once this project reaches its completion, it will serve as the only local independent living centre for people above the age of 55, besides Rotary Place on Westwood Drive.
Right now, while the specifics of what the apartments are going to look like haven’t been ironed out yet, Ross is concentrating on making sure unpredictable Thompson weather doesn’t interfere with the early stages of construction.
“Hopefully … this weather holds out for a little bit longer and that just saves us money and saves us time and it helps the construction project as a whole,” he said.
The next annual general meeting for Lions Manor 55 is scheduled to take place next Sept. 25.
Anyone interested in putting a deposit down on a unit in this new living centre should contact Leanne Grenier at Lionsmanor55@gmail.com or 204-307-8334.
