O’LEARY
A Community Seniors Co-operative has identified the location where it wants to build a 40-bed seniors home in O’Leary.
John Martin, chairman of the co-op’s interim board of directors said two land owners have offered to donate land for the project right in the center of town.
The O’Leary Farmers Co-op and the O’Leary Public Hall Company have each made conditional offers to donate land for the project, said Martin, confirming that the Community Seniors Cooperative has accepted their offer.
The co-op’s treasurer, Marylois Bernard, said a business plan confirms the need for the additional seniors accommodations in O’Leary. The location is next to the Lady Slipper Villa.
At a public meeting in November, a poll was taken of those in attendance – mostly seniors - and almost all indicated that they would prefer for the building to be located within walking distance of sidewalks and the town centre as opposed to in the outskirts of the town, Martin reported.
The chosen location clearly meets this preference.”
The board’s announcement, he admits, satisfies a lot of curiosity in the community.
The Farmers Co-Op has offered a 1.8-acre piece of property behind ScotiaBank, and the Public Hall Company has offered its building, which currently houses Home Hardware and the Masonic Lodge, along with 0.7 acres of land. “The total acreage of the two parcels of land, which border each other, is of a suitable size for the proposed senior’s complex,” Martin confirmed. There would even be room for future expansion, he said.
Martin estimates the value of the donation to be at least $200,000.
The offers are conditional on the cooperative proceeding with the construction of a seniors home.
Allison Ellis, a director with the O’Leary Public Hall Company, said there is also a condition that the seniors home co-op continue to provide space for the Masonic Lodge which currently occupies the space above Home Hardware.
"It could be in that (Public Hall) building; it could be within the new complex. That part would yet to be decided,” Martin acknowledged. If Home Hardware remains in its current location it would be a tenant of the new co-operative, Martin explained.
Martin is hoping the co-operative will be ready to break ground by late summer, but he and fellow executive members acknowledge much has to happen in the coming months.
An architectural plan still needs to be completed.
The co-op will be applying for a not-for-profit designation for receiving charitable donations and is applying for federal seed money to help move the project forward.
