After seven years of community engagement consisting of countless volunteer, fundraising and lobbying hours, the proposed Bragg Creek Seniors’ Housing Project is one step closer to fruition.
To determine the need for, and the viability of, developing a seniors’ housing project in Bragg Creek, the Rocky View Foundation, an organization whose goal is to provide safe, affordable and accessible housing for seniors in Rocky View County (RVC) communities, is currently conducting a Bragg Creek and area seniors’ housing survey.
According to Rocky View Foundation chief administrative officer Carol Borschneck, the purpose of the survey (part of the foundation’s more comprehensive Seniors’ Housing Needs and Feasibility Study) is to determine the viability of establishing seniors housing in the Greater Bragg Creek area.
Borschneck said her foundation is considering building independent seniors’ housing in Bragg Creek to ensure area seniors could remain in their community as they age.
“There is a void that needs to be filled because there is no accessible affordable seniors’ housing in Bragg Creek,” said Borschneck.
Borschneck said if Bragg Creek and area seniors have access to affordable local housing they would be able to stay in the community and continue to engage with local friends and families.
“If we can assist seniors by building this housing, they can access those supports and remain important participants within their community.”
The survey is also being conducted to fulfill a requirement of the province’s Alberta Seniors Department in order for the foundation to be able to apply for future provincial funding, according to Borschneck.
Borschneck said her foundation would need to work with the province to request capital funding to build the housing project.
“We hope to achieve 70 per cent capital funding through the province,” said Borschneck. “We also need to work with Rocky View County for the development and building permits approvals.”
The foundation hired Housing Strategies Inc. to conduct a Seniors’ Housing Needs and Feasibility Study, which will be presented to the Rocky View Foundation’s board of directors Nov. 26.
Borschneck said the board would need to determine whether there is enough support in the community to ensure that the project is viable.
“We need to know if the housing units will be occupied consistently, thereby ensuring a consistent revenue flow,” she said.
Based on initial discussions with the Bragg Creek Seniors’ Housing Society, and the preliminary findings of the statistical data, Borschneck said that the need for seniors’ housing had been confirmed.
“Southwest Rocky View County is underserved because there is no seniors’ housing in the Greater Bragg Creek area,” said Borschneck.
In spring 2014, Rocky View Foundation received a two-acre donation of land in the hamlet of Bragg Creek from resident Dick Koetsier, where they hope to build the housing units.
“I’m completely dedicated to providing a spot for seniors housing, as it is such an important part of Bragg Creek’s future,” said Koetsier.
The Bragg Creek Seniors’ Housing Society was formed in 2009 to promote the need to build seniors’ housing in the Greater Bragg Creek area.
The society conducted a community needs assessment survey in 2008, and then in 2010, they completed a survey of seniors from the Greater Bragg Creek and Redwood Meadows areas.
These surveys indicated there was community support to establishing seniors’ housing.
“It’s been a long and winding road (to establish seniors housing in the community),” added Koetsier.
Borschneck said she strongly encourages Bragg Creek and area residents to complete and submit the survey to her foundation.
To complete the survey visit to rockyviewfoundation.org, or, pick up a hard copy at the Sugar Shake Bakery or the Bragg Creek Pharmacy and, once completed, drop the survey off at the Bragg Creek Post Office by Nov. 7.
