Ocean Front Village, a seniors’ lifestyle community that provides independent and assisted living options, is projected to open July 18 in Courtenay.
Owned by Cranbrook-based Golden Life Management Corp., the village will consist of two buildings centred by an amenities portion. The building to the north will contain 85 private pay, independent living suites. The other building will contain 120 government-funded, long-term care beds and six hospice beds, which increases the capacity of the current hospice by two beds, said Chris Swift, community manager at Ocean Front Village and past-president of the Comox Valley Hospice Society.
The society’s office is located on Cliffe Avenue in Courtenay. It has four beds at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Comox, which is governed by Providence Health, which does not allow certain services — namely medical assistance in dying (MAiD) — to be performed on their property. However, hospice will be relocating its entire operation to Ocean Front Village.
“Golden Life Management is what I would call a pro-choice company, and will support any services that the hospice would like to support on their site,” Swift said. “The four (hospice) beds at St. Joe’s will be no more.”
The funded beds will be allocated by Island Health, which had announced in January 2019 that Golden Life would be building and operating the facility in Courtenay. The health authority had anticipated the beds to be occupied by 2020, but that plan was sidelined by COVID.
All of the 85 private rental suites at Ocean Front have been booked. For more information, call (250) 331-0340, or visit goldenlife.ca
“The real estate market is pretty hot right now, so folks are cashing out and looking for an opportunity to go somewhere that’s more of a worry-free lifestyle, and live out their days there,” Swift said.
He notes the central location of the village, situated on Cliffe Avenue across from Driftwood Mall, and adjacent to the Courtenay Riverway trail along the water.
“It’s a huge asset to the property,” Swift said.
Services at the village will include independent living; long-term care; memory care that provides holistic support for those with dementia; hospice care; and home care to help residents remain independent as long as possible.
Ocean Front amenities will include a bistro, beauty salon, fitness room, games room, a library, a theatre, a dining room and a licensed pub. The latter will offer a-la-carte-style of eating.
“The dining room will feature two main course options,” Swift said. “Folks can choose where they have dinner, and we include dinner as part of the rent.
“You don’t necessarily need to go anywhere ever if you don’t want to,” he added. “We’re certainly close to things if you do want to go somewhere.”
Swift expects there will be 150 to 200 staff members — a mix of full-time, part-time and casual workers. They will provide personal care services and 24-hour monitoring. Golden Life hosted a May 3 career fair at the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce.