Senior and multifamily housing proposed for Warren

More housing options might soon be available for seniors and families in Warren. 

Silver Bridge Land Development is proposing to develop senior and multifamily housing on two sites owned by the South Interlake Rec Centre (SIRC). 

“Warren doesn’t have any senior or multifamily housing whatsoever. I was actually approached by some members of the public, a councillor from Woodlands and SIRC. It was a team effort to put this all together and come up with a concept,” said Darren Minaker, owner of Silver Bridge Land Development, which has been developing in Warren since 2014. 

“Both sites have lots of activities and amenities that would be fantastic for the seniors to use. The goal here is to have these sites be very desirable for seniors who are interested in active senior living. Silver Bridge Land Development will submit a subdivision application, and is hoping to develop these buildings, both senior and multifamily, next summer.”

Site 1 of the project, which is known as MacDonald, would encompass about 1.6 acres of residential development in Phase 1. It spans 12.58 acres and includes two four-plexes, two eight-plexes, 15 duplexes and one 31-unit two-storey seniors’ building with an elevator. In total, this site would provide 84 housing opportunities. 

Amenities at this site may include an assisted living complex, two baseball diamonds, pickleball courts, curling rink and playgrounds. Residents would also be able to enjoy walking and biking paths, raised garden beds and a seniors’ wellness centre. 

“The MacDonald site is using an existing older property that was designed for rec. Now it needs to be updated. The old diamonds will be replaced by new diamonds. The arena will be removed and then replaced by housing because there’s a new arena on the newer site closer to Highway 6. The curling rink will stay as an amenity for the seniors with an upgraded entry. We really want to drive for seniors’ wellness in the project to improve quality of living and longevity,” Minaker said.

“There are walking paths throughout that are designed so the part of the roadway can be the walking path, which would make it easy to be accessible all winter long. So when they clean the snow on the streets, they could clean the walking paths and biking paths at the same time.” 

Site 2, known as Railway, would encompass about 1.9 acres of residential development in Phase 1. It spans 37.38 acres and includes 17 five-plexes and two 31-unit two-storey seniors’ buildings with an elevator. In total, there would be 147 housing opportunities.

Existing amenities at the Railway site include the hockey arena, dog park and soccer pitch. Plans are also in the works for six ball diamonds, playground, walking and biking paths, a community centre addition, commercial kitchen and canteens. 

“The Railway site is a newer site close to the industrial park in Warren where the new arena is. The plan is for it to share senior multifamily housing with sports and rec. The concept is to have amenities there for seniors to be close to and within walking distance to a future community centre, to sports fields, to grandchildren playing baseball and soccer,” Minaker said. 

“The concept is to have the senior multifamily housing right close to the sports facilities on both sites. We’re hoping to start construction in the spring of 2026.”

Minaker plans to host an open house soon to share details about floor plans, pricing, timelines and availability. 

“There have been multiple meetings with SIRC and all the different sports entities in Warren. Everybody is at the table and everybody is giving input. This is basically a very inclusive team of people to put this together. In meeting with the RM of Woodlands council, they are very supportive,” Minaker said. 

“This is a way to get sports and housing to progress in Warren. We’re looking to make some good progress, and the benefits to the community are huge.”

Over the past few years, the South Interlake Rec Centre board began to consider how its land holdings might be used to leverage the enhancement and renewal of sports facilities for the area.  

“Twenty years ago, we were fortunate for strong community support to build the Access Credit Union Arena, which has served the community, Warren Minor Hockey and regional ice sports groups very well. It almost didn’t happen though on account of escalating costs,” said Craig Riddell of the South Interlake Rec Centre board.

“Thankfully, the building committee persevered in getting the arena built but, in the process, required a significant mortgage we are finally nearing the end of servicing some 20 years later. Only through continuous fundraising have we been able to keep up the mortgage payments and maintain and improve the building to make sure it remains a long-term asset to the community.”

With the escalating costs of building or renovating sports facilities and their experience with funding challenges for the arena, Riddell said they set out to explore the option of leveraging SIRC’s urban land holdings to provide enough funds to make sports facility enhancement a possibility.  

“Several things have come together to suggest this is the right time to explore this opportunity. Warren’s curling and baseball clubs have expressed a desire to renew their infrastructure, the municipality and LUD of Warren have expressed a desire to see urban growth, and area residents have expressed an interest in this type of development, specifically a need for seniors focused housing,” Riddell said. 

“Our plan is to continue consulting the user groups to determine how funds from development of SIRC land could best serve their clubs and to present the idea to the community with a long-term vision of how a mix of urban development and renewed community spaces could serve the area.”

However, Riddell noted that the South Interlake Rec Centre board will be cautious in their approach.

“This is a big step for volunteer led community groups to take. While SIRC has considerable land holdings, we hope to eventually leverage for both housing growth and funding of new or renovated community spaces the first phase will focus on a smaller footprint of land to be proof of concept if this long-term vision can play out,” he said. 

“As a not-for-profit community group, the SIRC intends to have the needs of the sports user groups and general community determine what is best for the future of the grounds and facilities. We hope to see as many people as possible come out to any public consultations.”     

From a municipal standpoint, Woodlands Reeve Douglas Oliver said the RM is excited about the potential this proposal brings to Warren. 

“Council knows that we need housing and recreation development in the community, and we are eager to work with the developer and the landowner to iron out the details and bring this vision to life,” he said. 

“As growing Warren responsibly requires an upgrade to our water reservoir, we look forward to moving our water project ahead to support developments like this.”

Silver Bridge Land Development will host a public open house on Monday, Dec. 1 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Warren Community Hall. If anyone has any questions, please contact Darren Minaker at +1-204-223-4558.