On November 29th, Bridge Road Developments Ltd. presented to residents of Langenburg and the area about the future development of a seniors housing complex with over 60 people in attendance at the community centre.
Bridge Road is an established property developer that focuses on adult active living markets in secondary and tertiary rural communities located in the Canadian prairies and Ontario. The company began in 2007 and has built 32 active living projects in 30 communities during their incorporation.
Councillor Jeff Farmer, part of the planning committee, opened the meeting by acknowledging, “The seniors housing project in Langenburg is not a new topic at all. This has been going on for many years, discussed in many forms with many people involved in these conversations over the years.”
He reinforced that the current plans are variable depending on investor interest, tenant interest and their shared input.
Councillor Joann McDonell, Erin Schnee, CAO Glenda Lemcke, Tyrel Thorpe and Terry Hildebrant are the current members on the planning committee, along with Councillor Farmer.
About two years ago the discussion for the senior housing units in Langenburg started again with Bridge Road and the committee was formed soon after.
The committee researched ideas by travelling around to other Bridge Road projects in the surrounding communities and asking for details.
In Churchbridge, Royal Estates provides 18 units for adult living apartment homes. Pipestone Villas provides senior housing units in Moosomin and Crossroads Villa in Whitewood also has suites for adult living.
Harry Funk, Vice President & Founding Partner of Bridge Road Developments Ltd., thanked the crowd for the large turnout and the groundwork laid by the organizing committee. Funk explained a bit about the history of the company and how far it’s developed over the years.
Travis Penner, Vice President of Bridge Road Developments Ltd. spoke next giving details about the proposed layout and features.
“Thank you to all those who spent all those hours over all those years, dreaming and talking, envisioning and bringing us to this point.”
Penner presented a proposal that included many possibilities, mentioning that things can change to accommodate the wishes of the shareholders of the project.
He showed how the seniors demographic is constantly increasing in population relative to the rest of our nation and there is an ever-increasing demand for senior housing.
Travis talked about how seniors sometimes have to move out of their smaller communities because there are few housing units available for them outside of their own home where they don’t have to worry about yard and home maintenance.
Instead of going to a community they are unfamiliar with, Bridge Road aims to give seniors the ability to stay in their home community.
Langenburg is aiming to build a single-story building including 12 suites, with a common area and indoor parking, but the shareholders will have input on the development. There is a proposal for an additional area for assisted living suites.
Features Include:
-Each unit has access to hot water, their own fridge, range, dishwasher and microwave.
-A courtyard will be developed in discussion with the shareholders’ interests.
-There is a concrete patio outside each suite’s patio door.
-Each suite has its own laundry room, although the washer and dryer are not supplied.
-9 foot ceilings.
-The units include laminate floors, solid wood cabinets, a pantry, stove, hot water heater, microwave, dishwasher and fridge.
-Each building has a common space for events and gatherings and they are outfitted with all the necessary appliances such as a full kitchen.
-Each suite will have their own indoor parking space with a wooden shelving storage unit (9ft wide). Outdoor parking is available for those who have more than one vehicle.
-Each unit will have an entrance through the indoor heated garage and exterior entrances through a patio door.
-Suites are planned to be sized between 1000-1200 sq ft with most (if not all) being 2 bedroom units. The rooms are designed slightly different from one another and are available for tenants to choose at a first-come, first-serve basis.
-Outside the patio entrance, tenants have an area for their own garden.
-The total footage of the building is expected to be 19,500 sq ft. with a $4.6m building cost.
-The tenants pay no extra property taxes or maintenance fees, that is all built into the monthly rent. Rent includes everything except a tenant’s phone and TV.
Bridge Road is not the property manager as the shareholders. The shareholders govern the building and they would need to hire their own property manager.
The development company generally looks for investments of $100-150 thousand to help build a solid share structure; although they will accept less to make the project work.
The project needs land, financing, investors and tenants. The land is secured at the old school site near the Langenburg Evangelical Church. The meeting aimed to get confirmation from more investors and tenants to meet the required financing.
A shareholder agreement is provided to inform everyone about possible questions or situations. It covers how many votes are needed to do certain things, what happens if a shareholder passes away or wants to sell, or if a third-party comes and wants to buy some of the shares. The shareholder agreement is finalized prior to construction.
Once the agreement is settled there is a 5-6 month delay until construction begins. It is estimated that Langenburg’s project would take roughly 10 months for construction.
The development group was transparent about possible struggles that could come along the way as the crowd asked questions regarding the risk. Harry Funk and Travis Penner shared stories about their experiences and how they’ve mitigated the issues and still build successful projects.
If there are issues within the tenants, the property manager gets involved and if it cannot be resolved it goes to the board. Bridge Road always tries to get the property manager to work out the issue first.
Bridge Road contracts out the site work and material needs through third-parties via a tender. Local contractor involvement is sought after whenever possible. Travis informed that work “[I]s tendered locally, but we also know that there may not be contractors capable for a project of this size in every discipline. It is tendered fairly and it is not always the lowest price that gets the job.”
There is talk of a second phase proposal which would involve assisted living units. The idea is that those living in the first-phase units would be able to be grandfathered into the assisted living units when they need them if they are built.
Speaking about the possibility of adding assisted living units, committee member Terry Hildebrant said, “There’s also a need for phase 2. Part of our thinking is if you’re in here you get grandfathered to that next step. The reality is that assisted living is much harder to balance the funding. You have to hire people, but the space is there and the vision is there.”
Surveys have gone out but the committee asked for anyone interested to give feedback. The aim is to inquire about questions and interests to see how they can be incorporated into the project’s development.
Development and tenant meetings will hopefully start in January.
More information about Bridge Road Developments Ltd. can be found online at bridgeroad.ca/