A 12-unit seniors housing project currently under construction in Granisle is expected to be completed in August.
The project will be a "huge positive impact for our community," said Linda McGuire, mayor of the Village of Granisle, noting it could make housing more affordable for people wishing to move to the community. "Those hoping to transition into the new housing project will now free up housing stock offering affordable housing prices," she said.
McGuire said she has heard plenty of positive feedback on the project from community members. "[There is] excitement and eager anticipation to see it completed," she said.
Initial planning for the project began in 2019 and construction began in 2024. The land for the project was donated by the Village of Granisle.
The project has been spearheaded by the Granisle and District Senior Citizens Association Society. Stan Hislop, president of the seniors association, told Houston Today in 2024 that the project takes its Copperview Seniors Housing name from the donated property, which was called Copperview Park.
“We wanted to retain the identity of the community,” Hislop said.
Two of the units in the building will have two bedrooms and the rest will have one bedroom. Ten of the units will be adaptable meaning there will be such features as switches and outlets being at easily accessible heights, having bathroom walls reinforced so grab bars can be installed when needed and having adequate space for walkers or other mobility aids. The idea is to allow people to age in place. One two-bedroom and one one-bedroom unit will be wheelchair accessible. Keeping in line with innovations in heating and cooling, each unit will have its own heat pump. But each will also have electric radiant heating in the form of baseboards for occasions when winter weather drops into the -20 C range, Hislop said.
He described the construction as the largest housing project in decades in Granisle going back to its days of being a copper mining community.
It also builds on the village’s marketing of itself as a retirement community.
“The original scope of the project was that seniors that live in Granisle and district would be able to remain within the community, age in place, by constructing these housing so that they would possibly be able to sell their home and downsize and put more on the market for younger families to move into town,” Hislop said.
Hislop and the four others on the association’s advisory team spent thousands of hours bring the project from an idea to the start of construction, he added. As a retired pastor and renovation contractor, Hislop brought his own skill set to the group which includes a person with a financial background, one with a background in caring for the elderly, one that is experienced in civic planning and one with a paramedic background in community health care. The other group members are Gloria Maughan, Shirley Plugboer, Kathy Bedard and Ron Bedard.
As the local sponsor, the seniors association will have a caretaker responsible for some administrative work, grounds keeping and janitorial. The complex is meant for people who can live independently. There will not be any health care of assisted living services provided.
The project received public funds with BC Housing providing approximately $5.2 million and the federal government providing $1 million. The Village of Granisle’s land donation is assessed at $49,800.
—With files from Rod Link
