Sydney non-profit asks for land to build $9M seniors housing complex

A community group has asked Cape Breton Regional Council for help to build an affordable housing complex for seniors in Sydney, N.S., estimated to cost slightly more than $9-million.

The non-profit Southend Community Development Association said in a proposal to council it needs a municipal contribution to bring the idea to fruition.

The group hopes to use municipally owned land in the neighbourhood of Ashby bordered by Welton Street, Willow Street, Gorman Street and Vulcan Avenue.

• Read the full affordable housing for seniors proposal

"We can't build this if we don't have any land," executive director Rick Fraser said Thursday.

"Because we are a non-profit organization, the municipality can sell it to us for one dollar."

The idea comes after a study of the area identified a need for affordable senior housing.

The project will take around seven years to complete and cost slightly more than $9 million, Fraser said.

Units for people with disabilities included

The development would include 16 stand-alone, fourplex units with commercial space on the ground floor and two to four units for people with disabilities.   

"We would accommodate the wide doorways," Fraser said.

"The cabinetry would be low enough for people in a wheelchair to access it. The light switches would be in the right locations and the water closets and shower stalls would be built for that type of a need."