BY FRED LAWRENCE

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

One solution for the increasing housing shortage facing the Windsor area will arrive in the form of the first-ever condo unit for senior residents.

Mitch Brison of Brison Developments said the decision to build a condo in Windsor was made based on demand for units and the increasing numbers of seniors retiring to the area.

The condo project will be a combined venture between Brison and Provident Development Inc. of Halifax. Brison, who also owns the Masonic Home site, said, “there’s potential here between the Masonic Home site and the King Street location to make a retirement village community with various types of housing to suit individual needs and requirements.”

The combined King Street condo projects are estimated to cost between $7 and $8 million with construction of the first phase scheduled sometime this fall.

“This is going to be the first new condo building ever built in Windsor,” Brison said. “There will be heated underground parking, an elevator for easy access and other amenities to make retirement living more convenient than ever for a lot of people.”

The first phase of the project includes an 18-unit, three-storey building with a Second Phase to follow that will house an additional 24 units in a separate structure.

Huge step forward

Windsor Realtor Don Rose said the project is a huge step forward for the town. “What we’re now trying to do is get the message out that there’s an alternative to other retirement homes in the area.”

Rose said the condo units come without caveats and can be bought and sold like any other property. “It's going to work. We have investors and several units sold already, so it's a very exciting and worthy project.”

Rose said there are many advantages offered through condo living. “If buyers can get in soon enough they’re close to the hospital, pharmacies, stores and other amenities and it could extend their lives by a substantial amount because older people will not have the worry of maintenance and upkeep that comes with owning their own property. I know from experience once this project gets going it’ll catch on fast, and the second unit will take off as well.”

Brison said he always thought there was a market for this type of development in the region. “I know there’s a need so it was just a matter of timing. The market is strong in the Windsor/West Hants area and the timing has never been better.”

Condo living the way to go: Hilchey

Dave Hilchey has worked with Provident Development Inc. for the past 25 years and recently oversaw the construction of Windsor's new Superstore, MacDonald's and Tim Hortons on Cole Drive. Hilchey sees great potential in the King St. project. “If you want to grow a town, start building amenities that people from other centres can relate to and they will have a reason to want to come here.”

For empty-nesters, Hilchey said condo living is the way to go. “When you look at condo living, it’s essentially a lifestyle change where older residents can move into a nice premise, worry-free. They can leave in the winter and head south if they want to or stay because they don't have to shovel snow or do anything other than live in their new condo unit.”

However, rural Nova Scotia has been slow to catch on to the condo idea, Hilchey said. “Cities like Vancouver and Toronto have a much broader market and a broader range of people. Here, the condo market is driven largely by empty-nesters.”

Hilchey said “nobody builds condos on spec; with the first 18-unit project, once they get six or seven reserved bids, it’ll get going.

“People have to see it and touch it and feel it and a degree of education is needed to explore the options, yet given this, people are surprisingly in tune with condos.”

Hilchey said small towns need more of this type of development to diversify and capitalize on existing market potential waiting to be tapped. “Alternative housing is always a positive thing,” he said. “I’d like to see a cross-section so my kids have a chance to live nearby if they choose.”

Another positive aspect of a diverse housing development, Hilchey adds, is the retention of people who might otherwise move elsewhere to find such accommodations.