On September 17, the official opening of the new seniors’ residence Villa des Rosiers in Saint-Elzéar-de-Beauce took place.
This is an initiative and a direct response from the residents of the many private residences that have closed their doors in recent years in the area.
Project Origin
In 2017, the citizens of Saint-Elzéar presented themselves to the Municipal Council to claim a seniors’ residence (RPA) that belongs to the community, and not to a private company, with the aim of ensuring the sustainability and quality of the services provided. Since the municipality does not have housing of this type and after the closure of many private RPAs, notably in Saint-Victor, Saint-Éphrem and Saint-Isidore, elected officials listened and agreed that this project should proceed.
Therefore, citizens and elected officials contacted the New Habitat Technical Resource Group (GRT) to support them in implementing RPA for the community. After several needs identification meetings, the GRT began seeking grants in order to complete a financial package that would ensure the feasibility of the project. Citizens Group was established as a non-profit organization in February 2018.
Finance
The main financial partners were the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ), which awarded the organization a $4.5 million grant under the AccèsLogis Québec Program, of which nearly $2 million came from a partnership with Mortgage and Housing Canada Corporation (CMHC). The group was also able to draw on CMHC seed funding of $25,000 to conduct preliminary studies before work begins.
MRC de la Nouvelle-Beauce ($60,000) also collaborated as part of the Project Structuring Support Fund (FSPS), Novoclimat ($47,085), and Saint-Elzéar Community and Municipality (about $50,000), not to mention a 35-year tax credit The political support of the Mayor, Mr. Carl Marco, and the Deputy, Mr. Luc Provencal, pushed the project forward.
Finally, construction began in April 2021, under the supervision of builder Maurice Bilodeau. The first residents moved into their new living environment on May 1, 2022, to the delight of the project’s instigators, GRT Nouvel Habitat and several of its partners.
Villa des Rosiers has 25 apartments, including 21 31/2 and four 41/2, common areas, an entertainment show, a commercial kitchen serving two meals a day, a 24/7 resident monitoring service, as well as an increased fire protection catering to The latest provincial standards in the field. The cost of implementing the project is $7 million.