— Hall to be demolished for seniors complex —
(OSOYOOS TIMES — Nov. 15, 2006) —
By Lawrence McMahenrnOsoyoos Times
The Osoyoos Elks Club property on Highway 97 near 62nd Avenue is being sold to developers who plan to tear down the Elks Hall and build retirement townhouses and an assisted-living rental apartment building for seniors.
The developers will also build a new, smaller clubhouse for the Elks and Royal Purple that will accommodate activities for the 60-member local club, but not the large community events currently held in the Elks Hall.
A spokesman for the developers says an application for rezoning the property will be made to the Town before the end of December, but demolition of the existing Elks Hall and construction of the retirement townhouses likely won't start until next fall.
Last March the Elks members voted to put the property up for sale because the costs of paying for the hall's maintenance, utilities and taxes were too high.
Despite rental of the hall for numerous community meetings, wedding receptions, funerals, dances and other events each year, the revenue wasn't enough to offset the costs. The main floor of the hall was built in 1972 and the second floor was built in about 1983.
Pat Frewer, President of Seniorhome, a Lower Mainland company that provides a number of seniors housing-related services including project management for property developers, confirmed to the Osoyoos Times that his firm and two development companies have bought the Elks' four-acre property and will proceed soon with their plans.
Frewer says the development group plans an overall campus of care that will include housing and support services for seniors.
He says this project won't duplicate the services offered by the Mariposa residential-care and assisted-living project proposed for Osoyoos. While the Mariposa will consist mostly of beds and units provided to Interior Health, the Seniorhome project on the Elks site will be totally private, for purchase and rent by individuals.
Frewer says Phase 1 of the Seniorhome projects will be demolition of the Elks Hall and construction of a new building for the Elks and seniors' townhouses for independent living. He doesn't see this happening for about one year.
A future Phase 2 at the site will be construction of an assisted-living apartment building. Rental residents in the building would live in their own suites but would have a range of services including meals, housekeeping, social activities and transportation, Frewer says.
He adds that a number of regulatory approvals are needed for the project, including rezoning by the Town and agreement by the Agricultural Land Commission. The property isn't in the Agricultural Land Reserve, but it is adjacent. Frewer says he and the developers are ready to build the standard six-metre buffer that the ALC requires between agricultural and residential lands.
Local Elks Club spokesperson Carolyn Schoenit confirmed that the Town of Osoyoos also made a bid to buy the property, but the club opted to sell it to the Seniorhome group because it is in the best interests of the Elks.rnFrewer says, The Elks view this development as a benefit to increasing interest and membership in their club, while providing more diversity in housing and support for area seniors.rnWhen asked in March where Osoyoos people will go for their large community events when the Elks Hall is gone, the club's Exalted Ruler Leroy Olson said the Osoyoos Indian Band has a facility near the Nk'Mip Campground, and the Town's Sonora Community Centre could be the site for some functions.
