Guelph Mercury – When the Ignatius Jesuit Centre put out the call a couple of years ago for expressions of interest for its Orchard Park Office Centre, there was no shortage of responses, but only one proposal seemed to be a good fit for the Ignatius centre.
The centre recently informed tenants of the Orchard Park building that it had signed a letter of intent with Angel Oaks Communities on a plan that would see the building renovated to become apartments for adults with disabilities.
“I think it’s a great project,” said Lisa Calzonetti, Jesuit centre director of operations.
The plan would see the land that the building sits on and its parking lot leased to Angel Oaks Communities — a nonprofit created by local realtor Mark Enchin — on a long-term basis — somewhere in the realm of 50 to 100 years, Calzonetti said.
The building, a red-brick building somewhat resembling a large, old school, would be turned into around 70 residential apartments.
“It will be a fully integrated community that will include seniors, adults with disabilities, and their families, and commercial tenants,” Calzonetti said.
She stressed that the residence would not be an institutional setting, but rather a place with a mix of residents and tenants that would provide support to one another.
Read the rest of Jessica Lovell’s article in the Guelph Mercury Tribune.