Seniors lining up to get preferred suite at new Welland retirement residence
September 24, 2020
Seniors lining up to get preferred suite at new Welland retirement residence
Deea Linehan, vice-president of retirement operations for Plazacorp, looks out a fifth floor suite at The Grand Canal Retirement Residence in Welland. The 130-unit residence is set to open May 2021. DAVE JOHNSON / TORSTAR
Seniors are targeting The Grand Canal Retirement Residence, hoping to get the suite they want in the new five-storey, 130-unit residence under construction alongside Welland’s Recreational Canal, says Deea Linehan.
“We’ve done minimal marketing and about 75 seniors have connected with us. They’re making sure they get the suite they want, whether it’s a first floor one on the corner or directly in the centre of the building,” said Linehan, vice-president of retirement operations for Plazacorp.
She said there’s been contact from people living in Ottawa and Winnipeg looking to move back home to be closer to their children and families.
There are those looking at the new residence because they love the view overlooking the recreational canal and watching or taking part in the activities at Lincoln Street Docks, soon to be Welland Rotary Park.
Being directly connected to Welland Community Wellness Complex is a selling point, said Linehan.
“Residents can use the spaces there, giving more access to a wider array of amenities.”
Grand Canal has a large amenity space — it includes a games room, theatre, food demo kitchen, dining area, restaurant-style dining area, bistro and pub and salon — overlooking the canal and Linehan said there’s a large outdoor patio facing the waterway.
Scheduled to open in May 2021, the retirement residence being built by Brouwer Construction Ltd. will see suites of varying sizes and configurations.
“We’ll have studios, one-bedrooms, one-bedrooms with a den, and two-bedroom suites. Many of the suites facing the canal have an outdoor space, whether it’s a large or small balcony or a terrace on the second floor. Some will have walkout gardens, as well.”
Linehan said the residence hasn’t sold out yet and because of demand, early-bird deposits were accepted so people could get the space they wanted.
“We don’t normally do that until we open a presentation centre,” she said.
Those looking for information on the residence can go to The Grand Canal Retirement Residence website — www.grandcanal.ca — which is in the process of being updated. It will soon have floor plans and other details for potential residents to see. For now, it has a phone number people can call for more information and a spot to enter an email.
Asked about the impact of COVID-19 on the construction and what effect it may have on the opening, Linehan said it didn’t seem like the pandemic set back the opening of the residence.
“We have a pandemic plan in place … what precautions we’ll take.”
One of those precautions is negative pressure hallways that keep air from suites going out into the common hallways. There will also be UV (ultraviolet) light boxes set up to decontaminate any packages delivered to residents.
