With the help of the Rotary Club of Dryden, Dryden seniors are close to achieving the first new modern apartment complex in over 35 years.
 
The meetings speaker, our own Rotarian Mel Fisher, had been involved in an earlier attempt to develop a co-op complex under a “life-lease” concept, a form of seniors’ development popular in Manitoba.
 
In 2013-14, Rtn. Mel approached then club president John Borst asking him under Rotary’s leadership to convene a meeting of community leaders to see if the idea could be resurrected.
 
Borst put together a report which demonstrated that the demographics of the community showed that indeed there was a gap in Dryden’s housing stock for Senior’s accommodation for those whose income put them beyond subsidized housing but whose age was making it progressively more difficult to maintain their private home and there was nowhere for them to relocate without leaving the city.
 
Out of that meeting of about 30 community representatives an action committee lead by Rotarians Sandra Boyko and Janet Shaffer with the vital inclusion of the Northern Lights Credit Union’s Ernie Remillard was struck.
 
Shortly thereafter a community meeting attracted a couple of hundred Dryden citizens, 20 of whom put down deposits of $1000.00 to allow the committee to go forward with drawings and looking at other issues including type of organization and financing.
 
As a result, Arne Volkmar of Winnipeg, a cousin of Rtn. Robert Sherrock’s wife, was retained to do the drawings for a building to be called “Pine Ridge Terrace” (Arnie was also the architect of building at 65 King Street in Dryden)
 
The proposed building will be located at 310 Van Horne on a terraced slop just below the Dryden REgional Health Centre.  It will be 4 stories with between 22 - 26 units, and include an elevator, a common room, and be wheelchair accessible.
 
Each unit will be about 1000 sq. ft. with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and have 5 new appliances.
 
Financing is in its final stage. Investors in the co-operative will be asked to deposit $100,000 and will then pay rent in an amount to be likely to be in the range of $1,500.00. This will include utilities and taxes.
 
Should an investor decide to move out, they (or their estate) will get the $100,000 (minus an administrative fee of about 5%) returned.
 
Investors must be 55+, however a spouse under this age will be accepted. Children on the other hand will not.
 
The current plan is to start construction in the spring of 2016 and move in by summer of 2017.