It's been a busy couple of years for Elliot Lake Retirement Living.
After finishing construction on a brand-new facility and the adjacent Hampton Inn in 2009, the organization undertook major renovations on three of its properties, and is now gearing up for an expansion of the cottage lots, and a condo development on Spine Road.
When shovels might hit the ground is still in question, however, since the organization is taking a well-deserved break before embarking on a new project.
“(Spine Road is) something we're still contemplating, but we're still trying to get over the renovation project that we've just done, and we just built the hotel and that project, so we're trying to get over the hangover from that,” said Marielle Brown, marketing and sales manager for Elliot Lake Retirement Living. “But it's still our intention as an organization to develop that piece of land for residential development, primarily focused on the retirement market.”
It's a formula that's worked well for the group since getting into the market 21 years ago. Occupancy rates for its 1,473 units sit at 93 per cent, and the group still hosts several Discovery Tours — touring the city and the properties — daily.
Over the last year, the apartments and common areas in the organization's properties at 100 Warsaw, 103 Washington and 27 Mississauga received major upgrades to provide “more value” to clients, Brown said.
The Spine Road development has reached the master planning stage, and cursory drawings have been drawn up for the first phase.
That phase would incorporate between 80 and 85 units in one building on property 200 yards from the municipally-owned Spine Beach.
Detailed drawings won't be drawn up until the building is 60 to 70 per cent pre-sold and financing is secured, so detailed specs on the units aren't available, and the move-in date is still far in the future, Brown said.
“For us it's a timing issue,” she said. “A lot of what's made Elliot Lake successful is that a lot of what we've done has been predicated on affordability and lifestyle, and it's really important that when we do go to market with those condos that they are priced properly, that they're competitive in the market, and that people see the value in what we're offering.”
Living on pristine waterfront property in a natural setting will be a key to the success of the venture, which should give the organization a competitive edge, said Brown, who estimates the condo development could get going within the next two years.
Cottage lot sales, meanwhile, are doing a brisk business. More than 200 lots in the first phase have been sold, and building — required within the first three years of purchase — is ongoing.
“It's been a great economic boon to the community,” Brown said. “So what we're doing as an organization, along with the City of Elliot Lake, is looking at going back to the drawing board and doing a phase two, which would probably be the final phase, which is acquiring more lots on different lakes.”
Of the three original lakes to be developed — Dunlop, Quirke and Popeye — only nine lots are left for sale on Popeye. The organization will pursue the development of 700 lots during the second phase, Brown said.
Currently the Ministry of Natural Resources is considering opening up a dozen lakes for development, but the approval process takes time, and “at any point they could decide no, but we're hoping we'll be successful again,” Brown said.
“If we can do it in a responsible manner that allows people to enjoy the water without affecting the ecosystems, I think that's what the ministry's after,” she added, noting that the project would be rolled out in phases.
The development of the cottage lots has paid off. Along with the jobs created during the construction phase, national retail chains are beginning to take notice and invest in the community. Rexall and Shopper's Drug Mart have both built new locations in town, and Canadian Tire is now upgrading its gas bar, while Scotiabank has plans to build a new stand-alone bank complete with drive-thru window.
The attention from these national chains is a sign the community is moving in the right direction, Brown said, which is an exciting development on its own, “given where we've come from.”
Brown believes that upward trend will only continue as the Spine Road project gets going, with more construction and business opportunities on the horizon.
But the community's best asset will be the newest members of the community to call Elliot Lake home.
“That'll be the payoff for the community, when the construction is completed and you've actually got people living and recreating in those cottages or houses, depending on what they've built,” she said. “That'll be a great thing, and we're seeing the benefit of that already.”
