Over 100 people gathered for AVENS - A Community for Seniors’ public engagement session on Tuesday, April 26, where the organization shared details of its plan to add 102 new housing units to the existing senior’s complex.
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The addition will host 92 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom units, which works out to 112 new beds.
The gross floor area of a one-bedroom unit comes out to 46.3 square meters, while a two bedroom is 70 square meters.
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The pavilion will also include separate wings and various activity rooms.
AVENS expects to charge $1,213 (80 per cent of market rate) for a one-bedroom suite in the pavilion, while the price range for two-bedroom suites has yet to be shared.
AVENS has yet to decide eligibility criteria for seniors, the organization does have criteria in place with the NWT Housing Corporation in determining eligibility by age, though it remained unspecified.
“There is no official age category defining a senior. How a senior is defined depends on the data source,” reads a NWT Bureau of Statistics senior summary. “The sections related to population, health (and) wellness, and language (and) traditional activities use age categories of 60 years and older, while data related to employment, income and housing consider those 55 years and over seniors.”
The new units aren’t on sale yet, though AVENS is collecting expressions of interest from those who want to be kept in the know throughout the project.
There are currently 30 names on the waitlist for AVENS’ existing facility.
The new project has received at least two funding injections on its road to completion, one for $33.7 million in October 2021 and one for $5 million in January 2022.
The residence is set to open Fall 2023.
