OLIVER PAIPOONGE — Construction for a new senior assisted living complex started officially on the outskirts of the city.
The Pennock Village project received aid from a non-profit corporation to oversee accommodations for roughly 120 seniors in a series of assisted living, villa and garden homes all ranging in 1,000-1,200 square feet.
“You don't have to worry about Mom and Dad up on the ladder anymore,” said project developer James Collie. “Doing things they shouldn't be doing.”
The project helps rural community members stay in their neighbourhood, where they feel most comfortable and are able to receive day-to-day help, Collie said.
“It keeps you in an environment with other people of similar nature, so you have social interaction and I think it just suits very well personally,” he said.
“The idea is for it to be focused on rural people,” said Collie. “To keep rural people in an environment that they are familiar with.”
Collie said that wildlife is not a concern at the moment for development plans, and that the animals will most likely be welcomed by the future community members.
“I would say no concern but the wildlife is here,” he said. “I was here last night, you could hear coyotes hollering, so, that's sort of the normal circumstance in a rural setting.”
In 2024 when Collie proposed the 28-acre Highway 130 plot in Oliver Paipoonge beside the United Reformed Church of Thunder Bay, it was zoned as residential and further zoning in addition to the installation of wells and septic systems.
Collie said in 2024 that “zoning and subdivision items are in place.”
Collie said the projected is expected to take five to seven years to complete, with additional information on resources available at the assisted living homes to be announced.
