A Collingwood resort is proposing their own solution for a shortage of housing for seniors by adding retirement home units to existing hotel and clubhouse buildings.
As part of Monday’s (June 12) development and operations services standing committee meeting, councillors got a look at a proposal from Living Stone to convert and expand the Living Stone Golf Resort and Club Cranberry site to add a new 129-unit Living Stone Retirement Home at their Keith Ave. location.
Larry Law, owner of Law Cranberry Resort Limited, spoke to councillors as part of the presentation about his vision to address a shortage of living spaces for seniors in Collingwood.
“It’s always been my personal passion – what I can do for my community?” said Law. “I’m hoping this project can show that this is a good contribution, especially when we’re talking about complete communities.”
The property (2.2 hectares) currently houses the Living Stone Golf Resort (formerly Cranberry) hotel, including the Club Cranberry (timeshare) building.
The proposed changes include the conversion of the existing three-storey (plus basement) Club Cranberry building to add a two-storey addition above to create 69 retirement home units. A three-storey addition would be going in above the existing Living Stone Resort restaurant and swimming pool, as would a five-storey addition in front of the existing garage and delivery room for an additional 60 units.
The proposal includes approximately 13,000 square feet of amenity space, including dining, lounges and fitness facilities to be used exclusively by the retirement home residents. A total of 215 parking spaces, including eight accessible spaces, 25 bicycle parking spaces, and two delivery spaces are also proposed to support the various commercial uses for the entire site.
If the development is approved, the entire property would ultimately contain a mix of uses, including the new retirement home. The existing 101-room hotel, restaurant, conference/banquet hall facilities, and recreational amenities including an indoor swimming pool would still be part of the site. Tree canopy coverage is expected to increase from 14.9 per cent to 48 per cent on the site as part of the new plans.
The property's current zoning – resort commercial – permits retirement home units.
“This is such a unique form of mixed-use,” said Coun. Deb Doherty when it came time for councillor comments. “When I think about what mixed-use is, I would never have put these two applications for senior residential and resort together.”
“It’s a very efficient use of space and resources and it certainly something that is needed in this community,” she said.
Law noted the retirement home units would be rentals, with three meals a day provided as part of rental agreements. Doherty also asked how the two uses would come together, and whether Law foresaw conflicts between seniors and resort guests.
“The notion of being next door to a hotel where there might be late-night parties or weddings might not be something a senior would find appealing,” said Doherty.
Law said the two uses would be completely physically separated with no shared spaces between the retirement home and the resort. However, he noted the “innovative” part of the combination is families of seniors could stay at the resort and still be in close proximity to their senior family members.
“Our resort is very much for family use, which is very different from say, Blue Mountain,” said Law. “They are more (geared toward) the party (use) and younger people, but for us, our marketing position is for families.”
In regards to water usage, Town of Collingwood planning services completed a merit-based evaluation of the proposal under their Servicing Capacity Allocation Policy (SCAP). The proposal received a total score of 58.5 points out of a possible 95 points (62%).
The development as proposed is estimated to require an additional 75 single dwelling unit equivalents (SDUs) of water capacity. The developer is applying for an exemption to the interim control bylaw.
“Planning services notes that the proposed development provides seniors retirement units and represents an innovative housing solution within a non-residential development that council may choose to consider as an additional merit of the proposal,” noted Lindsay Ayers, manager of planning with the town in her report to councillors.
At the end of discussions, the committee voted unanimously in favour of approving the site plan amendment and exempting the project from the interim control bylaw. The matter is not settled yet, and will be before council on July 25 for another vote.
UPDATE: During their July 25 meeting, council voted unanimously in favour of approving the site plan amendment and exempting the Keith St. project from the interim control bylaw.
