Sudbury company to build custom-made seniors housing

One northern Ontario man says it's time to give seniors custom-built housing, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

The Rossignole Company, a Sudbury firm that specializes in lifestyles for older adults, has launched a residential retirement lifestyle project for people older than 55. The plan is to build hundreds of homes across Greater Sudbury that are specifically designed to help seniors live independently.

President and CEO Marcel Prud'homme says he had the idea after realizing Sudbury has an aging population, and that their housing options are narrow.

"I think we tend to overlook the needs of our seniors.We have a tendency of warehousing them in apartments or some sort of housing facility that's built with a cookie-cutter formula," says Prud'homme. "When they come in, it's pre-built and that's what you get. But we don't think people who have reached a senior age deserve that."

Lots of light, low countertops

The project, a partnership between TheRossignoleGroup andBelMarBuilders Inc., plans to build homes in Hanmer, Chelmsford, Lively and the south end of Sudbury.

Buyers are encouraged to customize their home however they like, but certain features are already built in, including low countertops, 36-inch doorway widths, a stair-free design and plenty of windows.

"Lighting is very important," Prud'homme says. "Vision, as we grow old, diminishes. So the windows allow lots of natural light to come in, and we'veadded light fixtures to give the most light."

Too many 'cookie-cutter' seniors homes

The price of the home, which Prud'homme says is around $300 per square foot, includes year-round maintenance for things like snow removal, yard care and utility repairs.

Prud'homme says he's meeting with the city's director of planning later this month. He's asking forlower building permit and development fees because he feels the project will help the city's senior population live more comfortably.

"This is about being sensitive to a segment that's easy to overlook and walk away from," saysPrud'homme. "I've seen too many approacheswhere housing facilities, forseniors, are cookie-cutter and I don't believe in that."