SENIOR HOUSING by Robert Kirwan, Candidate for Councillor of Ward 5 We must begin to prepare for the future in Ward 5 and in particular Valley East. I have lived in Valley East for 40 years and what I am starting to notice is that a lot of seniors who are still in their houses are looking for viable options that will allow them to sell their house and move into another apartment, condo, or senior citizens residence while still enjoying the quality of life to which they have always been accustomed. Many of the seniors are not looking for subsidized housing or low rent facilities. They just want a nice place that is smaller than their house and is easier to maintain. The problem is that there are very few places available for them. During the next four years City Council is going to have to come up with a plan that will provide developers with the necessary incentives they need to build senior apartments and senior citizen residences. This will not only stimulate the economy it will open up some lower cost houses that will be more suitable for younger couples who are just starting out and may not be able to afford $400,000 homes. The houses that will come on the market will be in the $200,000 range. This must be a priority for us or we will soon start to see our seniors moving away from the City to be closer to their children or the larger centers in Southern Ontario that do have places for them to live. In terms of specifics, we really need to examine the development charges that are being applied to senior living apartment buildings and housing developments. Perhaps it is time to offer a financial incentive to builders in order for us to begin providing alternatives for our seniors. The cost of building apartments and condominiums is so expensive that in order to offer affordable living in a new apartment, a builder finds that the return on investment is not enough to even enter into such a project. But this is a problem that is only going to go from bad to worse and we cannot ignore it. I do not advocate for the City getting into the housing business, but we may have to in order to meet the needs of our seniors.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 01:31:52 +0000
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