Senior Housing Survey 2009 for the

Hunt Coulee Retirement Ranch Project

This survey is being conducted to determine individuals who are interested in purchasing a housing unit in this community or are interested in helping out with this unique community based project. This survey is not an offer to purchase a housing unit and the completion of this survey does not ask you to make such a commitment.

This survey will help the project management team complete the planning necessary to develop the donated land parcel for a rural seniors’ retirement community. The land is currently designated as ranch and farm land and will need to be re-designated for residential use before it can be developed for housing lots.

The project management team will use your contact information to inform you of project developments and will maintain the privacy of your information. Individual survey results will not be made public.

Background
The Western Rocky View Communities Development Society (CDS), a not for profit charitable organization, with the assistance of a dedicated group of seniors is planning to build a retirement community for local rural seniors. Through the generous donation of land from Ruth Hunt the planning has focused on a 45 acre parcel in the Lochend District just on the northwest corner of Big Hill Springs Road and Bearspaw Road. Mrs. Hunt plans on retaining the surrounding 115 acres in its natural state through a conservation easement or similar arrangement.

A previous survey was conducted to measure the level of rural senior support and we were very pleased with the high level of interest. In order to maintain a rural “feel” to the community we plan to build a smaller community as the survey indicated that most people preferred that the community have no more than 100 housing units.

One of our major objectives for the project is that we make this project “affordable” and we found that the majority of seniors who responded to our previous survey felt that prices should be generally in the range of $250,000 to $400,000 with some people interested in higher or lower prices. Our seniors’ advisory committee recommends that we develop housing options that will provide a mix of low cost and moderate priced units. As well, some units should be subsidized rentals for fixed income seniors.

As we continue our planning for this project (that we are, for now, calling HCRR, the “Hunt Coulee Retirement Ranch”) we want to make sure that everyone who is interested in living here or interested in helping out with this project are included and informed about the project planning.

Project Description
The donated 45 acres of land is located on the northwest corner of Big Hill Springs Road (Hwy. 567) and Bearspaw Road. The land is currently used for cattle grazing. These lands have never been tilled and have rolling hills covered in natural grasses and fescues, willows, Aspen groves, and many low lying areas that serve as natural drainage ponds.

The community will be developed along a natural ridge that will provide a scenic view of the hills and prairie landscape along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

The housing development will be set back from the highway and buildings will be clustered to minimize the environmental “footprint” of the project. Approximately 50% of the parcel will be developed while the remaining acres will be accessed through a series of walking paths. The community will be developed based on an “Eco-Agra” concept demonstrating best environmental practices while promoting sustainable rural lifestyles and agriculture.

The community will be designed within universal design and barrier free design principles. All public and private facilities (including walkways) will be designed for wheelchair access (or adaptation) as well as for physically challenged individuals.

Once operational a community management association will operate programs and maintain common facilities. This will be a community managed by the community.

 

Contact Information

Volunteers or Financial Support

These are the types of volunteer activities I would be glad to help with (select as many as you wish to be involved with):

I am interested in helping by providing some of the project financing through an investment, loans or donations to the project.  Please contact me to further discuss how I could help.

Housing Preferences

We hope to design the community so that seniors will find it easy to walk within the community and the surrounding walking paths.  In addition to privately owned housing units the members of the community will jointly own “common” facilities such as a community hall, dining room, commercial kitchen and amenities attractive to rural seniors.  The level (or number of) common facilities will be determined through consultations with seniors and later in this survey you will be asked to prioritize which facilities you believe will be the most important to include in this development.

Hopefully, residents will only use a vehicle (personal car, car pool, shuttle service) when they want to go outside of the community for shopping, appointments, etc.   

Most of the units will be built with two bedrooms while the other units will be one bedroom units.  We expect that the second bedroom could be shared accommodation with another senior, a live-in caregiver room, or office/guest room.  While this is a community for seniors, and we expect that their children would be living on their own, we have limited the number of bedrooms to encourage this to be an adult community.

We are also considering the development of a “care centre”.  This facility can either be privately or publicly funded and there are advantages and challenges with either funding model.  The seniors’ advisory committee will be considering various choices this year.

 

 

I will need to obtain the assistance of a financial planner to assist me in purchasing a housing unit.

 

Rental unit
Main living area of unit with a south face
Closer to main common facilities
Good scenic views from the house
Vehicle garage
Walk out basement

Other (please describe)

 

Please rank (1 being the highest) the following choices for your ideal set of common facilities.  Use a ranking only once.  You do not have to rank all choices.

Community Hall
Commercial Kitchen
Dining Room
Activity Room
Offices, medical examination room, beauty salon, non-denominational chapel
Convenience store, satellite pharmacy
Carpentry/Mechanical Activity Workshop
Craft, sewing, library area

 

In order to pay for the cost of the common facilities each housing unit share will include a one time commons facility charge.  At this time we have not set a budget or priority for these facilities.  Please rank (1 being the preferred charge) the following amounts for what you would be prepared to pay for common facilities. (Please note that a higher charge will mean more common facilities.)

$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000

House Type and Price Preference

The following housing types are proposed for this community.  All units are bungalow/ranch style housing (single floor).  Pricing does not include a vehicle garage or extra space.  Pricing is estimated and includes land, common facility/condo share and does not include GST (if applicable).  Price does not include monthly community maintenance fee, utilities, property taxes, etc.

Please select by choosing the check box that applies to you.  Select ONLY 1 type of unit you are interested in first.  Choose D.1, D.2, D.3, or D.4.  Then select the size and, if desired, extra space options.  D.3 has no size or options (at this time) and will most likely be room and board rental units.

D.1 Single Family Unit
Unit Size Price Estimate (not including extra space) Extra Space
1200 sq. ft
$350,000 - $370,000
 Basement
Loft
Garage
1350 sq. ft. 
$395,000 - $470,000
1500 sq. ft. 
$475,000 - $550,000 
 

 

D.2 Duplex Family Unit
Unit Size Price Estimate (not including extra space) Extra Space
900 sq. ft
$230,000 - $245,000
 Basement
Loft
Garage
1000 sq. ft. 
$250,000 - $290,000
1100 sq. ft. 
$300,000 - $340,000

 

D.3 Four-Plex Family Unit
Unit Size Price Estimate (no extra space option)  
400 sq. ft
$150,000 - $170,000
  
500 sq. ft. 
$175,000 - $195,000
600 sq. ft. 
$200,000 - $225,000 

D.4 Care Centre (Supportive Living or Lodge Facility)

We are considering the construction of a “lodge” type facility that will include private bedroom/bathroom units with shared facilities such as a kitchen, dining room, sitting area, therapy room, etc.  This facility will be for individuals who can live independently but desire meal and housekeeping services and may require daily medical support.  The level of medical care required (or expected) by residents will be a major factor in determining the type of facility that we build.  As well, we plan to meet with government officials on our age-in-place community and determine how to best “fit” this care centre into the types of programs provided by the government health services.

Please select this option if you are considering a “lodge” type facility as your preferred housing choice.  Individuals who select this option will be contacted in the near future to help define the type of facility we should consider.