Let’s get it started

With the land for the new Acropolis Manor officially rezoned, Mayor Herb Pond is hoping that the oft delayed replacement home for Prince Rupert’s elderly can soon move into the construction phase.

That phase moves into the next level when the construction contract is awarded in March 2007.

The Daily News featured the story on the front page of Wednesday’s paper.


Pond pushing for speedy start to the new Acropolis
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Pages one and three

The Mayor of Prince Rupert was so excited about finally having a piece of land rezoned in order to build a replacement for Acropolis Manor, he was ready to start breaking ground Monday night.

“Now that’s in place, let’s get going, let’s break ground, let’s build a facility. Let’s get our seniors in to a place that looks after them with dignity,” said Herb Pond.

Council officially rezoned a piece of land in between the hospital and Roosevelt School on Summit Avenue from ‘parks and open space’ to ‘institutional and civic use’ in order to allow construction to proceed.

“This project has been on Northern Health’s (NH) list for some time now,” said Zeno Krekic, the city’s planning consultant. “Early in 2006, they attempted to develop it as a public-private partnership. That apparently didn’t work. They approached us in August of this year and proceeded with conventional construction.”

While a certain amount of park space will be lost, the new facility will add to the quality of life for its residents, said Krekic.

Council has been pushing for a replacement facility for Acropolis for many, many years.
“It’s crept along, in spite of the best efforts of the city and the many organizations the city has contact with to try and push this along,” said Pond.

“When we met here with Northern Health and the question came up about land ... I said to the staff meeting here there would not be a 30-second delay because of the city’s processes.

“I think what you are seeing here ... is the fulfillment of that commitment. The city is providing the land, the zoning is done, the Official Community Plan amendment is done, we have not been in the way at all.”

No one attended the public hearing to speak, but several residents of Omenica Avenue wrote in with their concerns. The residents’ concerns included worries about property values being adversely affected, the design of the facility not providing for ample greenery, water run off from the new development, and potential traffic flow increases.

“I don’t want these concerns to go unheard” said Coun. Sheila Gordon-Payne.

Gord Howie, the city’s administrator said they would forward a copy of the letter to NH as well as look at the plans in respect to the citizens’ concerns.

“It is a requirement that there be a system for handling run-off from the site.”

“With regards to increased traffic, I’ll pass this on to Mr. Thompson (director of engineering) to monitor this,” said Howie.

“Although it’s not the type of facility that will create a whole lot of traffic, we will keep our eyes on it.”

The Northern Health Board has approved the purchase of land by the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital and Acropolis Manor from the City of Prince Rupert for $1 last November.

NH will use the land for the replacement of Acropolis Manor with a new, up-to-date long-term care facility and assisted living housing development. The project will receive funding support from the North West Regional Hospital District and the Ministry of Health.

The new completion deadline is late 2008.

When the facility is completed it will bring together 15 specialized rooms for assisted living that include kitchenettes and living room areas, 56 complex care beds for those who can no longer live independently, two palliative (end of life) care beds and three respite beds, for seniors that require short-term stays, for a total of 86 beds.

The facility will be in the shape of a cross and utilize a ‘hub’ model giving NH the ability to have additional wings added to it in the future. A construction contract will be awarded in March 2007.