As Snow Lake enjoys a mineral-fuelled resurgence, the question of where newcomers will live and old-timers will retire has been on the minds of many residents.
A big part of the answer came last month when the Golden Vista, a private, 18-unit apartment complex designed for seniors but open to all applicants, opened in the northern community.
“I felt very proud, emotional, exhausted and in complete disbelief,” says Dave Koop, a Flin Flon area resident who is president of the Golden Vista.
The three-storey, $6-million complex is the result of a decade of efforts, $3 million in private investment and a Hail Mary loan from the community’s largest employer.
It all started in 2005-06 when then-Snow Lake mayor Garry Zamzow and his council sought to get the ball rolling on a seniors’ housing project.
At the time, Snow Lake was in limbo. The town’s gold mine had suddenly closed and its other mine, Hudbay’s Chisel North mine, was entering the home stretch.
Council approached developers and bent the ear of Bridge Road Developments, a Manitoba company headed by Harry Funk. Unfortunately, a feasible business plan was elusive given the uncertain future of the town.
The real game-changer came in 2009 when Hudbay unveiled plans for a massive new mine at the Lalor deposit near Snow Lake.
“Now they had a business case for this going forward,” Koop says.
At that point Koop, a geophysical contractor who helped discover Lalor, got involved. When the original head of the project, Steve Davies, tragically died in a vehicle accident in 2010, Koop took over the lead role.
Even with the Lalor mine on the horizon, the pieces of the Golden Vista puzzle were not falling into place as quickly as hoped.
Project officials caught the break they thought they needed in 2011 when construction began with the backing of a financial group.
Shockingly, about $500,000 had been spent when Koop said the group backed out. The partially completed building would sit for two years.
“Hence started the long road of trying to track down anybody to finance this thing,” Koop says.
Koop and other project officials approached 17 other financial groups that showed varying levels of interest in getting involved. Some of the discussions lasted months, but there were no takers.
At this point the Golden Vista had about $3 million worth of investment. No one knew where the remaining $3 million would come from.
Officials had long hoped Hudbay would become a partner in the Golden Vista. With the Lalor mine expected to generate a need for more housing in Snow Lake, the company seemed to have a vested interest in such a project.
Early on, Hudbay had agreed to lease some of the apartments in the building to improve housing options for seniors in Snow Lake. After further discussion, the company decided to also lend the project the missing $3 million, allowing work to resume in 2014.
Rob Winton, head of Hudbay’s Manitoba operations, says the arrangement gives Hudbay added accommodation options as it aims to attract and retain technical and management personnel.
“Our involvement also affirms our commitment to Snow Lake and its longer-term future,” he adds. “On a personal note, seeing the smiles on the seniors’ faces who have already moved in was priceless and confirms that this was the right decision.”
Both Winton and Koop were on hand for a ribbon-cutting to open the Golden Vista on Monday, June 22. Many who toured the facility for the first time were impressed, with some expressing their desire to one day call the facility home.
The Golden Vista was always envisioned as a complex for tenants ages 55 and up. With underground parking, an elevator, wheelchair-friendly washrooms, wide doorways and a common room, it meets a variety of needs that arise as age takes hold.
Now that the building is open, Koop said there will likely be a mix of ages and that if that’s what it takes for the project to succeed, he’s fine with that.
Four of the 18 suites have been rented to seniors. The other 14 are being leased by Hudbay, but Koop says the company hopes to turn those leases over to tenants
as the need arises.
As for the name of the complex, Koop says it’s appropriate for a town where great views (vistas) and mining (including gold) merge.
“If anybody’s been in Snow Lake and seen the sunset over the lake, it’s just an incredible view,” he says. “And the sun in that general direction basically sets over Lalor.”
