Sudbury legion planning to build seniors housing with view of Ramsey Lake

Sudbury's oldest legion branch is throwing itself a 90th birthday party, but Branch 76 is thinking more about the future.

The Minnow Lake Legion is in the early stages of plans to build a seniors housing complex on its hilltop overlooking Ramsey Lake.

Branch president Jim Young says the hope is to partner with a real estate developer, who would also construct a new legion building.

"Not only beneficial to us, but it would be beneficial to the city because we are needing senior facilities. When we do get to the point where we will be approaching developers, there will be no shortage of developers that will be interested," says Young.

With one of the best views in the city, developers have long drooled over the prospect of building condos on the site of the legion.

Young says they don't want to give up the view, since it does help them with bookings for weddings and parties.

"The dream would be to have the new legion that would be situated with an outdoor patio, looking out towards an even better view than we have right now," he says, adding that there are about 500 members, around half of them military veterans.

Branch 76 is known as the Minnow Lake legion, but it's only been in that neighbourhood since 1973, when it moved into the former police station for McKim Township, long ago amalgamated into Sudbury.

It was founded in 1926 with meetings held in the old post office on the corner of Durham and Elm Streets. Later it moved to the former Central School building on the site where the Sudbury Arena is today and was the original owner of the Steelworkers Hall on Frood Road, that burned down a few years ago.