The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Manitoba Government confirmed on Friday that it will soon be seeking tenders to rebuild the Hemlock seniors apartment complex. "We expect to have our tender out in the local area by mid-July," said Adrian De Porto from the Manitoba Housing Authority in Winnipeg. "We plan to build on the same footprint (of the burned down section) with some newer styled senior suites. We also plan to renovate the section that is still standing into larger suites." De Porto said that construction work should begin by late summer, with a tentative completion date set for early spring of next year. When the construction is completed, the Hemlock seniors apartment complex will have a lounge area, an elevator, 18 one bedroom suites and one two-bedroom suite. Located on Hemlock Drive, the original complex was struck by fire on June 6, 2002. At that time the south portion of the apartment building was leveled by the flames, while the north section remained somewhat intact. It is the north section that will be renovated. Nobody was hurt in the 2002 blaze, especially due to the efforts of some people who were passing by the complex at the time it caught fire. They assisted in getting the elderly residents out of the flaming building as quick as possible. Besides the Hemlock project, seniors housing will be getting a second boost with the announcement by the Flin Flon Rotary Club that they intend to build a seniors housing complex at their Rotary Court site on Bracken Street. At the last City Council meeting, councilor Nazir Ahmad mentioned that the Rotary Club is in the process of determining how large their project will be. He did say that, between the Hemlock and Rotary projects, the total number of new senior suites will probably be just under 50.
