Altus Feasibility Study (pdf) - Maison Senior Living

4904 ‐ 4920 Elbow Drive, Calgary, AB
Milliken Developments
October 28, 2010
A testimony to how closely converged the two countries are in terms of product development and business
philosophy today is the fact that two of the largest Canadian public companies (Chartwell REIT and Extendicare)
have residences in both Canada and the USA and manage them all from headquarters in Canada. Further, two of
the longest standing national players in Canada are RRO (formerly Retirement Residences REIT) and Holiday
Retirement Corp. It is in the context of daily business of these bi‐national developer operators that the inevitable
convergence of the Canadian and American experiences will most rapidly occur.
The shifting Canadian Provincial landscape for private sector involvement in the provision of assisted living is
likely to open up significant opportunities for investors, developers and operators. Provinces such as Quebec and
Alberta are leading the way in the level of cooperation between public and private sectors and demonstrate a real
willingness to allow the private sector to evolve market‐driven services and products. It is the success of such
public‐private initiatives and the continued positive experiences of the large public company investors that will
lead to the growth in investment in Canada by American companies. Of course, the fact that the product
segmentation differences of yesterday are becoming blurred to non‐existence also helps greatly.
Nomenclature
The seniors housing industry brings together elements of traditional real estate, together with hospitality and
health care industries. The components of the industry as we know it today form a continuum of care that
generally parallels the stages of aging. The following diagram illustrates the general business sectors of the
industry in Canada.
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INDEPENDENT LIVING > INDEPENDENT SERVICED LIVING > ASSISTED LIVING > MEMORY CARE > LONG TERM CARE
This accommodation reflects a declining contribution of “real estate” and increasing contribution of “business”
value through the continuum of care.
Independent Living (IL) accommodation is typically an apartment/unit which has a full kitchen and which forms
part of a larger seniors’ community. Suites may be owned or rented and cater to seniors who require minimal or
no assistance with daily living. Sometimes a limited meals package and housekeeping are included in the basic
rental/monthly fee but typically, services such as meals, housekeeping and laundry are normally provided on
request for an additional charge. IL residences are not subsidized by the government and residents are
responsible for the entire cost of accommodation and services.
From a rental perspective, IL is most common in the Province of Quebec. In other Provinces, it is typically
encountered in the non‐profit sector as rentals or life‐lease projects. An emerging trend for IL in Ontario and BC is
ownership in the form of condominium apartments which are often attached in some fashion to a rental
retirement home. Amenities and services of the rental building are made available to owners of the condos for a
fee. Operators such as Amica (with JV developer partners) and CPAC (now part of Chartwell REIT) are innovators
of this model in Canada.