Russell Heights Project - Phase Two Development

I am intrigued by the potential for the vacant lot at Russell Heights and have been for years. From my time on the Board it was apparent that we didn't specifically have a great need for more low-income/geared to income seniors housing in St George. The other thing that became apparent was that the current building was not viable over the long term. My vision then became to build market rate seniors apartments (nice units for market rate with amenities), the profit of which could be used to support the other building. There are many seniors living in our community who want to stay here but no longer want the stress of home ownership and maintenance and don't want or need low-income/geared to income housing. However, I have moved on from my time on the Board...

We now see a fascinating new proposal before us which I am thrilled by. Indwell does amazing work and I feel strongly that we could build a wonderful, inclusive space for adults that need supportive housing which is Indwell's specialty. There are many families in St George with adult aged children who cannot live on their own in the traditional sense. We also have a group home in the community where we have youths who have come to call our town "home" but they are then forced out when they turn 18 years of age. My family has seen the toll that this "forced migration" can take on some of those youths. To build a place for our community members to live that would have the supports in place and allow them to stay in their community and give their parents the peace of mind to know their children are close is absolutely wonderful.

I wonder if we could build a place or "meld" these two visions into one with the building we have and the vacant land available so that we can be a true community and have space for everyone for their entire life.

I applaud the Mayor, Council, Staff and my friends at Indwell for having this conversation and will do my best to be online this evening.

Best,

Will Bouma

I have what I believe to be necessary considerations for Russell Heights. As a 12 year volunteer with the elderly in a hospital setting I got to see first hand how many seniors were admitted because of falls. Carpeting is a tripping hazard when going from wooden flooring to carpeting there is a change in elevation. We tend to shuffle as we age and don’t lift our feet to accommodate the change. Carpeting harbours bacteria and odours caused by bladder leakage etc. Not a pleasant discussion but a reality. My suggestion, no carpeting or at least offer new residents the option of carpet or wood flooring. Cupboards and shelves need to be reachable. We should not be using stepladders to gain access to what we need on a daily basis. I don’t know if there is a committee that includes seniors to weigh in on the topic of accessibility but I hope there is. Only seniors can truly know what our needs are. Judy Hughes

Thank you for addressing the long overdue need for additional seniors housing in St George. So many of our communities elders have had to be displaced to other cities because of the unavailability in Russell Heights. In the past, Federal funding was allotted to housing projects in Brantford. In turn, the County did not expand Russell Heights. Consideration can be given to public- private partnerships to help fund the build. There are many different models of P3s that could be used to ensure the county maintains control of day to day operations. Another option to help offset costs is to build commercial units in the building that can be leased to businesses that are ancillary to Russell Heights and it’s residents. Using the age old excuse that federal funding went elsewhere is not an acceptable reason for displacing our seniors.

St George is a growing community. The plans for Russell Heights could be included in these growth plans. A combination of Independent living and also assisted living units within the complex a would help to serve our seniors for the next 20-30 years and ,again, aid in keeping our aging family
members in the community in which they live.