DIDSBURY - A representative of Mountain View Seniors' Housing (MVSH) was at Didsbury town council on Sept. 27 to speak about future expansion plans that include providing a facility for full-time care for 30 seniors in town.
“I wanted to share with council what our site development plans are for our existing site,” Sam Smalldon, MVSH's CAO, told councillors. “These plans have been discussed with your town planners over the last year. We wanted to make you aware where those discussions are.”
Smalldon said moving the 30 seniors from Aspen Ridge Lodge over to the proposed new facility would free up spaces in the present facility for assisted living residents, keeping the wait-list for Aspen Ridge down and better serving the community.
Aspen Ridge Lodge currently has 58 suites including 28 lodge independent living units and 30 supportive living units.
Mayor Rick Mousseau told the Gazette that he feels more seniors' housing would be beneficial for the community.
“They (MVSH) were giving us a heads-up on what they're planning on expanding there,” said Mousseau. “If they want to expand there must be a need for it because they're the ones that would know what is needed for seniors.”
MVSH recently opened a new facility in Sundre with 104 units including 18 independent Life Lease units, 45 lodge (assisted living) units and 40 full-time (24-7) supportive living units, and is looking at offering the same services in other communities.
“Now that we're finished that we're now going back to Olds and Didsbury and considering expanding those sites to have the same three options (independent, assisted living, and full-time (24-7) supportive living care),” Smalldon told the Gazette after the meeting.
“Currently at the Aspen Ridge Lodge in Didsbury we have a site that would need to expand on the same site to provide space for the 24-7 care in a proper facility. There are 30 people there presently getting care at 24-7 (full-time) level of SL4 and 4D (supportive living and supportive living for dementia patients) that are in a facility that isn't a supportive living facility—it's a lodge facility. In other words, it's not designed appropriately for the care required,” he said.
Smalldon said officials are also looking to add 12 Life Lease (independent) living units to Aspen Ridge.
The total number of units would be 110, with 58 lodge (assisted living) units and 40 full-time supportive living units, along with the 12 Life Lease units. All the units would be on the same site.
“It's a site development plan I shared with council that their planning has already seen and accepted that it's feasible to do this,” he said. “The expansion would make better use of the site and better serve the seniors in the Didsbury community.”
Smalldon said he came to council on behalf of MVSH to explain what the requirements for the site are and in hopes of garnering support.
“Secondly, there is a piece of land in the corner of that site that MVSH has first right to acquire,” he said. “We would like the land transferred to us to enable us to do that site development.”
MVSH will come back at a future date to make a formal request once the details are all worked out, said Smalldon.
“Simply we wanted to share publicly that we are working with the town as partners for seniors' housing and community development in Didsbury,” he said.
Carstairs development
Smalldon added MVSH is also looking at building a new facility in Carstairs with three options for seniors' housing. Currently, MVSH operates a lodge in Carstairs with 43 units.
“We would make 45 lodge, 12 Life Lease and 40 24-7 (full-time) care for 97 (total units),” he said. “It would be on roughly six acres (2.42 hectares) of land.”
MVSH plans to meet with Carstairs town council at its regular council meeting on Oct. 11.
