Grey County will be taking a look at whether a long-term care facility due to close in Owen Sound may be suitable for affordable or supportive housing.
County council passed a motion at its July 8 meeting to direct staff to bring back a report to Grey County’s Affordable Housing Task Force about housing opportunities relative to Maple View long-term care home, located on 4th Avenue West.
“I don’t want to miss an opportunity. I just want staff to look into it and certainly don’t want to be in the position two and three years down the road looking back and saying ‘we should have looked at the building when it became available,’” said County Councillor and Owen Sound Deputy Mayor Brian O’Leary, who introduced the motion.
The Maple View building is one of two long-term care facilities in Owen Sound — along with Georgian Heights on 10th Street East — being put up for sale by Southbridge Care Homes. Both are due to close sometime in 2022 and have their 69 combined beds redeveloped and residents moved to a new three-storey, 160-bed long-term care home currently under construction on 16th Avenue East.
Grey County Director of Housing Anne Marie Shaw said the county will be looking at bringing in an external source to the building to assess if Maple View is a viable option for either affordable or supportive housing.
No information was provided at county council about the potential price of the property.
Grey County CAO Kim Wingrove said Southbridge has indicated it is looking to close a sale in mid-2022.
County councillor and Town of the Blue Mountains Mayor Alar Soever acknowledged this is a great opportunity to explore, but asked why the county wouldn’t also look Georgian Heights as well in terms of potential.
Wingrove said the location of the Maple View property with its close proximity to downtown Owen Sound and access to amenities made it a more attractive option, but left open the possibility of looking at Georgian Heights further as staff works through its process to prepare a report for county council.