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Public hearing Tuesday on Courtenay seniors’ complex

A public hearing on rezoning for a major new seniors’ housing complex is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8 at Courtenay city hall.
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Rendering showing the proposed building as one would view it from the sidewalk. Rendering showing the proposed building as one would view it from the sidewalk.

A public hearing on rezoning for a major new seniors’ housing complex is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8 at Courtenay city hall.

The proposed complex, at 2850 and 2924 Cliffe Ave., includes 78 independent living units in a four-storey building, and a two-storey building with a 76-bed assisted care facility.

Golden Life, of Cranbrook, wants to build the seniors complex on five contiguous lots with a total size of 3.61 acres at the intersection of Cliffe and 29th St. Each of the properties fronts onto Cliffe Avenue and the Courtenay Riverway.

The zoning amendment will involve rezoning two of the five properties currently zoned commercial to multi-residential R-4A, and to add care facility and complementary uses in the R-4A zone.

Golden Life was founded by Endre Lillejord, who began exploring housing options for his mother in the 1990s. Institutional settings were the norm at that time so he set his construction company the task of building the type of home he wanted for his mother.

The first development was Cranbrook’s Joseph Creek Village and Lillejord’s mother was the first resident. Since then the company has built seniors’ facilities in Castlegar, Invermere, Creston, Fruitvale, Fernie, Trail, Nelson, Kimberley and Grand Forks as well as a number in Alberta.