MAYO—Planning will begin in the new fiscal year for the promised Mayo seniors’ housing facility, Minister responsible for Yukon Housing Corporation Scott Kent announced during a visit to the community today.
“In the fall of 2011, our government committed to building a new seniors’ housing complex in Mayo and I am pleased to announce that funding to move the project forward has been earmarked in the 2013/14 budget, which will be tabled next week in the legislature,” Kent said. “Once legislative approval is in place, design and other work can begin to build a complex with six energy-efficient, accessible units to accommodate the needs of elderly tenants.”
This phase will include work by the newly-formed accessibility advisory committee, comprising housing, health, and disability management specialists.
Seniors are the fastest growing demographic in Yukon. The number of seniors aged 65 and older is projected to make up 15 per cent of the total Yukon population by 2021.
Over the past five years, the Yukon Housing Corporation constructed new seniors’ housing facilities in Watson Lake, Teslin, Faro, Haines Junction and Whitehorse. In addition, the recently announced 34-unit seniors’ housing complex in Whitehorse, which will replace the former Alexander Street residence, is scheduled for completion in 2015.
“Not all seniors wish to live in Whitehorse but would rather remain in the communities where they have raised their families and lived their lives,” Yukon Housing Corporation Board chair Claire Derome said. “We are constructing seniors’ housing so that Yukoners have the option of living in their home communities and remaining close to their family and friends.”
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Contact:
| Matthew Grant Cabinet Communications 867-393-6470 matthew.grant@gov.yk.ca |
Doug Caldwell Communications, Yukon Housing Corporation 867-667-507 doug.caldwell@gov.yk.ca |
