The process of turning a vacant building on Hemlock Drive into a potential home for seniors may be moving forward.
At the Nov. 20 city council meeting, Flin Flon Mayor Cal Huntley said a request for proposals (RFP) would be going out for the Hemlock Drive property, following a request for expressions of interest (REOI) earlier this year.
“We have had some outside interest in that, so we’ll cross our fingers on that. We’re going to work really hard. That’s going to be one of the primary initiatives that we’re going to work on, as a council going forward – some proper senior housing,” he said.
When contacted, a spokesperson for Manitoba Housing said no dates have been scheduled for the Hemlock Drive property and that information from the REOI is still being processed.
“Manitoba Housing is currently reviewing the information received in response to the REOI to determine next steps. Since this work is still underway, we don’t have timelines or further details to provide at this point,” said a statement from the spokesperson.
The building, which was formerly used as a rental property and a seniors’ facility, was shut down and evacuated due to cost and safety concerns and has been vacant since early 2013. At least two attempts to either fix and reopen the building or rebuild on the site, either as low-income housing or as seniors’ housing, have not come to fruition. The current building was appraised in March and was determined to have a value of $23,800.
Under the previous REOI, some types of facilities, including supportive housing, nursing homes and long-term care facilities, shelters and crisis care facilities, were ineligible.
