Senior living complex enters second phase

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This article was published 26/11/2021 (1473 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Assiniboia Community Committee met on Nov. 24 to approve three property developments and discuss a number of issues related to zoning and community clubs, among other hyperlocal issues.

The committee approved a plan by Brightwater Senior Living to construct the next portion of its three-phase assisted living housing project in Linden Ridge. The first phase saw the construction of a three-storey, 170-suite apartment on the west corner of the 10.8-acre lot at 75 Falcon Ridge Dr.

Phase two of the development entails a new three-storey, 208-unit apartment, also geared to older adults. The proposal includes plans for 328 parking stalls, 203 of which would be located underground.

“What’s unique about this campus is that the aggregate of the campus is a continuum of care for senior living,” Randall Corwin, the director of Riverbend Construction (the developer and operator of Brightwater Senior Living) said during the Nov. 24 meeting.

The committee heard concerns from one Linden Ridge resident about how the next phase of the development could increase traffic in the area and eat away at street parking. The resident was also skeptical that the artist’s renderings would align with the final product.

Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) commended the project on the care it will provide for the city’s aging population.

The committee also approved a plan to construct two single-family dwellings on a 5,424-square-foot lot encompassing 125 and 127 Collegiate St. in the Bruce Park neighbourhood. The new homes will replace one single-family dwelling, built in 1945, at 127 Collegiate St.

As part of the meeting’s public hearing, councillors unanimously approved a zoning variance that permits the construction of a multi-family residential development at the corner of Destination Parkway and Racetrack Road, just past the Perimeter Highway near Assiniboia Downs.

“The group is working together on a more broad plan for the area,” Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) told the room. “The development has been in the works for quite some time, and this will fit in exactly with what is being designed and contemplated.”

The committee also approved a zoning variance involving a proposed development at 620 Oxbow Bend Rd., just south of this site. Here, developers sought to rezone agricultural district land to residential two-family property to make way for 105 lots.

In non-development related news, a number of Charleswood community groups have voiced interest in operating Eric Coy Arena (535 Oakdale Drive), which is currently city-run.  

Klein had put forward a motion to the Assiniboia Community Committee to consider the offer. The motion was tabled with consideration to the city’s standing agreement to lease the football fields adjacent to the arena to the Charleswood Broncos Football Club for $1 per year, and the fact that council recently considered a similar offer related to the Terry Sawchuk Arena.

Murray Cunningham, the president of Varsity View Community Club and vice president of the Assiniboine Community Club District 2 Board, presented at the meeting. Cunningham is part of a committee that is looking into running three Charleswood community clubs (Varsity view, Westdale and Roblin Park) under one umbrella.

“We would like the opportunity to run the Eric Coy Arena under one community club name as the first step towards amalgamation,” Cunningham said.

“In the end, we would have the ability to run an expanded community club within Charleswood; one that would encompass the entire neighbourhood, operating under one flag, and creating a closer knit community.”

He went on to state that athletes young and old do not have access to enough ice time under the current neighbourhood community club system.

“There just isn’t the capacity to have one community-owned arena in the neighbourhood,” Cunningham said.

The Standing Policy Committee on Protection, Community Services and Parks will direct the Winnipeg Public Service to report back on the issue within 90 days.