When residents of the former Foothills Lodge were all relocated to the new, state-of-the art campus of care at the Sundre Seniors Supportive Living Centre a few years ago, the decision was eventually made to sell the structure, which was listed in February.
That call was made following several recommendations outlined by a community-based steering committee.
There were high hopes the now-vacant seniors' living facility would be sold and repurposed to provide a service that would benefit the whole community.
“The Government of Alberta hopes that a buyer will consider the recommendation that independent housing for seniors or special needs residents or an educational residence facility would best serve the community,” MLA Jason Nixon wrote in a text on Thursday, Aug. 8.
While we concur and remain optimistic that will be the case, those aspirations unfortunately seem to be fading, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel arguably becoming more and more distant.
Despite several expressions of interest and subsequent showings, to date there has yet to be one single offer on the aging, multi-million-dollar facility that was completed in 1983-84 and added to in 2004.
And naturally, the structure cannot be allowed to just sit there unused in perpetuity, slowly but surely degrading and losing value with every passing year.
“Should the lodge not sell, we will continue to work with our community partners before making a decision about demolition,” Natalie Tomczak, press secretary for the minister of Seniors and Housing, wrote by email on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
While we certainly hope demolition is not what the future has in store for the Foothills Lodge, we also equally recognize the distinct reality that such a course of action might actually make the property more appealing to a prospective buyer who would rather start from scratch rather than modernize an older building.
Because even less acceptable than levelling the lodge is allowing it to waste away, along with the prime location’s potential.
— Ducatel is the Round Up’s editor
