With Gimli’s older age demographic, a new assisted living facility and new personal care home are expected to meet the growing demand for care.
Nordic Development Corporation held a meeting a few weeks ago in Gimli to provide people with information about the assisted living and PCH it intends to build at 16 Centennial Rd., just west of Highway 9.
Main floor of the personal care home, which will be built after the assisted living facility is completed
The land is owned by Baldur Nelson and his wife, who struck an agreement with Nordic Development.
The two new health-care facilities will be built in two phases starting with the assisted living facility followed by the PCH.
Nordic Development CEO Donald Benson, who also owns a management company called Nordic Canada Ltd., provided an overview of the project at a June 11 open house at the Gimli Lakeview Resort. He was joined by Nordic Development president Arsenio Pagunuran of AGP Architects.
Nordic Development had carried out a feasibility study for Gimli and that provided the company with a suggested number of units to meet the demand.
“Now that the demand for assisted living has been restored, we are moving ahead with Phase 1 of the development, which is a 66-unit assisted living building,” said Benson during the presentation. “The second phase will consist of a 66-unit personal care home.”
According to Statistics Canada’s 2021 census profile, 37 per cent of the population in Gimli is aged 65 and over. The average age is 52.
Having available aging-in-place facilities will keep people in their community.
Nordic’s project was already in the works in December 2019 after the developers signed an agreement with the Nelsons, said Benson. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the following year set back their planning, as did the construction of the new Stefanson Hus assisted living facility near the Waterfront Centre.
Approvals for Nordic’s project along with a development agreement have already been secured. The developers will complete architectural and engineering drawings this summer, with the foundation of the assisted living expected to be completed by winter.
The six-storey assisted living building will have 66 units and 88 parking stalls. From the east side of the building, residents on floors 3 to 6 will be able to see Lake Winnipeg.
Pagunuran has been involved in a wide range of architectural projects across Canada and internationally for the past 25 years. He showed attendees the layout and exterior and interior finishings of both facilities.
The assisted living building will include meals, cleaning and laundry services, and transportation to attend appointments.
“We are planning a premium care facility with chef-prepared meals. Residents of the assisted living building will be bringing their own furniture. The suites will be furnished with a fridge, stove and microwave oven. Meals will be provided at breakfast and dinner. People will want to stock their fridge with their favourites for lunch and snacks,” said Pagunuran. “Cleaning and laundry services are included. We plan to have a bus or van to drive people to outings and appointments.”
The new personal care home will have 66 units on two storeys. Some units will be multi-person rooms. The PCH will include a dining room, chapel, medicine room, activity room, lounge, media room, salon and medical clinic.
Pagunuran said the PCH will be specializing in memory care as cases of dementia continue to become more prevalent.
“We intend to have a dedicated wing of the development, which will serve the needs to these patients. The assisted living building will be able to assist people with the early onset of dementia,” he said.
When asked how far the bus/van service would be travelling, Benson said Nordic has yet to determine its extent.
Admission to the assisted living and PCH is based on a limited partnership agreement, which requires occupants to purchase a unit. As limited partners, Pagunuran said people will own the assisted living and the PCH.
Benson added that they’re prepared to accept rental commitments to a certain number of units in the facilities, but “all others will be required to become limited partners.”
The completion and occupancy of the assisted living facility is expected in the fall of 2027.
Nordic Development Corporation is intending to hold another information session in Gimli on Monday, June 29 at 7 p.m. at the Lakeview. Please call to confirm as the date may change.
For more information about Nordic’s assisted living facility and personal care home, call Donald at 204-955-5042.
Nordic is in the process of building a website.
