Work will begin on a $3.2-million restoration of a Nelson CARES affordable housing site in Rosemont next spring.
Cedar Grove Estates, at 500 West Richards St., includes 22 one-bedroom units for seniors and people with disabilities as well as 19 town homes for families.
Nelson CARES executive director Jenny Robinson said Wednesday the project is funded by B.C. Housing and will include new roofing, siding, plumbing and windows for the 30-year-old site. Advocating for the funds, Robinson said, took four years.
“The site’s tired, but there are also some needed repairs there that were deferred,” said Robinson. “The seniors building needs to be updated, the plumbing needs to be updated. So B.C. Housing bundled us with one of their improvement projects.”
The update to Cedar Grove was one of several made public at Nelson CARES’ annual general meeting last week. The non-profit organization, which employed 201 staff and served 2,409 people during the 2018-19 year, operates sites including Ward Street Place and Stepping Stones shelter in addition to offering advocacy, employment and seniors services.
Robinson also gave an update on the 47-unit seniors housing development being built at 805 Nelson Ave. The costs were deferred after previously undetected hazardous material found during demolition of the motel on the land delayed the project by nearly a year.
“As they started to pull it down we realized we were in trouble,” she said. “There was some old 1930s stucco on the building we had to have removed properly and we did all that, so we met all the WorkSafe requirements and we’re on our way, so that’s exciting.”
That project is now expected to be completed by the fall of 2020, the same time Nelson CARES’ 43-unit affordable housing development at 205 Hall St. is hoped to be finished. Ongoing renovations to 107-year-old Ward Street Place, meanwhile, are due to be wrapped up in 2021.
Nelson Community Services, which operates programs including Cicada Place, Street Outreach and the Aimee Beaulieu Transition House, also held its annual general meeting last week.
The organization remains financially healthy. It posted a $21,347 excess of revenue over expenditures for the financial year ending March 31, 2019.
Related:
• Cicada Place celebrates 20 years of youth housing
• Women, children escaping domestic violence have few options in Nelson
tyler.harper@nelsonstar.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
