COURTENAY, B.C. – Glacier View Lodge wants to grow.
James Taylor, chair of the Glacier View’s board, presented to Courtenay council on Monday evening. He said they are looking for a letter of support.
“We have applied to Central Mortgage and Housing for a grant in order to do research for the needs of seniors in the Comox Valley,” Taylor said.
Following his presentation, council gave Glacier View a letter of support.
“We’re very grateful … it’s part of an extremely comprehensive detailed process to apply for these grants. There were over 200 pages of appendices that had to be filled out in order to apply for this. This (letter) is one of, maybe the last, document that we actually require.”
Taylor explained that they’re looking to develop the land around the lodge for affordable housing. He said it would not be an expansion of the lodge facility itself, but would be on the same nearby property.
“The focus would be on seniors, and if I had to make a guess, I would say we would probably be looking at multi-generational, so that would include all different age groups and a variety of needs, both physical and otherwise,” he said.
Taylor said this project would not connect to Glacier View Lodge physically, but in terms of the details on how the lodge would support the affordable housing project, he said he could not provide any further comment until more details are laid out.
During the presentation, it was also noted that Glacier View Lodge wants to add 70 beds to its current facility. The lodge has put in a bid in response to Island Health’s call for new senior care beds in the Comox Valley.
Glacier View Lodge has 102 residents who are provided with 24-hour care. The lodge has 158 staff members.
Adult day programs are available, that “provide support for people with cognitive impairments and cognitive difficulties who come in during the day for fellowship and appropriate activities”.
They also offer a bathing program for people who find it too difficult to bathe in their own home, and a respite bed to provide relief for caregivers.
