OAKVILLE-CENTRE C o n v e n ie n c e A n d Luxury In Every Ro o m (9 0 5 ) 8 4 2 - 5 0 0 0 A Metroland Publication Vol.38No.109 SUNDAY, SE PT E M B E R 1 7 ,2 0 0 0 32 Pages 75 Cents Plus GST v Rotary unveils new concept in seniors' housing C o n s tr u c tio n B y H ow ard M ozel c o u ld s ta r t J a n u a r y O AK VILLE BEAVER STAFF While The Rotary Club o f Oakville has provided housing for local seniors for more than 40 years, their latest pro ject - Woodside Mews - is anything but old hat. According to president Sandy Zulauf, Woodside Mews continues the club's long-standing tradition of work ing with seniors but at the same it marks a first of its kind for Oakville. What makes the project unique is that residency is based on the Life Lease concept in which buyers own their new homes while The Rotary Club of O rv ille owns the land. A monthly occupancy fee pays for all external maintenance and the services provided in an adjacent clubhouse. This allows seniors to receive a return ®a their initial investment similar to the equity which they would get from a private home or condominium. At the same time, Rotary land ownership ensures that the quality of the grounds, the community's rules and age (65-plus) criteria of the project are maintained. Each tim e the units are sold, the Rotary's 5% cut of the sale price goes into a reserve to build more seniors housing. "Without this creating a fund for us we wouldn't be able to have another Stewart Street or Rotary Gardens," said Len Warrington, president of Trafalgar Senior Homes. Woodside Mews will consist of 30 garden homes located on the old fire hall site on Rebecca Street and Woodside Drive, adjacent to Rotary Gardens which was built back in 1957. Those liv ing in Rotary Gardens will also be able to take advantage of the clubhouse and its amenities, such as a fireplace lounge, catering kitchen and support care office for such agencies as VON. "This is how communities build communities," said Warrington. "It will be a vibrant, affordable community dependent not on government housing programs, but on our own community's resources, services and support." Such housing is ideal for seniors whose current homes are too big and require more upkeep than they can han dle. Because of the services provided by Woodside Mews, seniors can "age in place" longer than if they stayed put in a larger residence. (Statistics reveal that seniors move an average of 3.2 times after retirement.) The project is not a long-term care facility, however. The advantages of this lifestyle will be fully aired during a public meeting scheduled for Wed., Sept. 27th at Sir John Colbome Centre, located at Third Line and Lakeshore Road, starting at 7 p.m. (See `P ublic' page 4) Photo by Peter C. McCusker Soojin Yi, Justin Maat and Naomi Brown were among the many Oakville Trafalgar High School students signing a banner last week to cheer on their school mate Andrew Hurd, who is competing in the men's 1500m swim event at the Sydney Olympics. The auto graphed banner is being shipped to Australia before Hurd competes in the 1500m heats on Friday. If he advances, the finals are on Saturday. GOOD LUCK ANDREW: C a n a d ia n T ir e a n d O a k v ille ... Canadian Tire's Athlete of the Week Mark Rivers played for the Oakville J's special Olympic team. He is a great runner and made it home a couple of times during this tournament game against Hamilton. Please drop by your nearest Canadian Tire to pick up your f ift certificate. A Winning C o m b in a tio n ! U P P E R O A K V IL L E S H O P P IN G C E N T R E U p p « » r M i d d le * P o a d at 8fft L ifK * O A K T O W N S H O P P IN G P L A Z A 8 4 0 -0 4 7 3 5 V ) K.**tr !»fr**f»f 8 4 4 -0 2 0 2 Mark! ^