Scott Stanfield
Record staff
A seniors community is being planned at the Home Hardware (Central Builders) property in Courtenay, but for the time being it will be business as usual at the store and the lumberyard.
Called Tiger Lily at Courtenay River, the community is expected to contain condominiums and rental apartments for supported living, assisted living and memory care. The project is a joint proposal by Calgary-based Altiveris —the owner — and Toronto-based Origin Active Lifestyle Communities, which will operate Tiger Lily.
The companies co-hosted a recent public information evening at the Sid Williams.
“We want to engage the community from the beginning,” said Alison Howard, Origin’s vice-president of sales and marketing, and head of its Vancouver office. “We think it’s a fantastic thing for the Comox Valley. It’s a beautiful piece of property.
“It’s walking distance to everywhere,” Howard added. “We don’t have the word ‘retirement’ or the word ‘seniors’ in our name at all because that’s not what we’re about. Our values are all about active lifestyle.”
The project will be developed in phases. The first two phases are slated for completion in the next 10 years, though a specific timeline has not been set. Phase 1 will include about 150 units, a new connection to the riverway, a three-metre wide concrete pathway and a riverfront viewing deck.
Shawn Vincent of Altiveris says feedback from the neighbouring community has so far been positive.
“The business people downtown are excited,” he said. “They understand that to revitalize downtown you have to have people, and you have to have people within walking distance.”
Altiveris president Bob Armeneau says the application with the City requires Home Hardware to consolidate its lumberyard.
“They (Home Hardware) still own it,” Armeneau said. “They will operate from a bit of a condensed yard, but basically their operations to the public will not change. The contractors will still use the facility, the public will still come down to the lumberyard. That will remain the same until the first phase of Tiger Lily is completed and it’s built up to a point where the company can start to look at the next phase.”
By Phase 2, Armeneau said it is likely that Home Hardware will start considering a new location.
For more information visit tiger-lily.ca.