A nursing home in downtown Ottawa will be renovated into a student residence for the University of Ottawa (U of O), according to Michel Guilbeault, U of O’s housing director.
The residence will be ready for the fall 2014 semester and will accommodate 400 first-year students, Guilbeault said.
Guilbeault said the U of O’s lease for the building was officially signed May 12.
“As with many universities we have grown over the past few years. Unfortunately our ability to accommodate those additional students in residence has not grown at the same rate so we’re looking for different opportunities to add different places in residences that are operated and managed by the university,” Guilbeault said.
Sharon Henderson, vice-president (communication and public affairs) of the company that owns the retirement home, Chartwell Retirement Residences, said via email that the retirement home is scheduled to close July 31.
Henderson said that the nursing home was sold because Chartwell was unable to maintain a sufficient number of tenants at the residence.
“The site had four prior owners, each of which faced occupancy challenges in this location,” Henderson said. “The 196 suite retirement home was generally operating with just over 100 residents the time of the announced closure.”
Henderson said the current residents of the nursing home will be assisted in securing new accommodations free of charge.
“Assistance was offered to residents to help them with their relocation and moving details which include locating an alternative residence, packing and unpacking and transportation of personal items,” Henderson said.
Staff of the nursing home will also be provided “fair severance packages” that comply with union agreements and years of service, according to Henderson.
The market for seniors’ housing in Ottawa is over-saturated, according to a 2013 report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
“The Ottawa region currently has the second highest vacancy rates in all of Ontario,” Henderson said.
Rideau-Vanier councillor Mathieu Fleury said he is happy the residence will be university-run.
Fleury said U of O has a “very good reputation in terms of the residences that they own and manage.”
He also said this is an important distinction because if an issue with the property arises, U of O is his point of contact. He said issues have arisen in the past with residences that are not run by U of O, such as graffiti and trash issues.
Guilbeault said the residence should not pose any problems for the community.
“Generally speaking, the community doesn’t have any problems with university operated and managed residences because we bring in infrastructure,” Guilbeault said.
“Part of that infrastructure involves having a 24/7 operation where we have reception desk services, we have protection services, we’ve got live in staff,” Guilbeault said. “We do a lot of programming so all the supports that come with the residence are actually an asset to the community.”
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