Heads Up ...New care facility proposed for old College Inn site

During the Committee of the Whole meeting on July 23 2025 Council and the public received the first presentation from The Care Group who currently operate The Gardens and previously operated the Qualicum Manor care facilities here in town. Their proposal is for a 141 bed development that includes independent living, assisted living and memory care. The subject property is currently zoned Residential 15 (R15) and is identified as Multi family Residential in the Official Community Plan and falls within Development Permit Area C5 – College Road. In addition to the zoning amendment, a Development Permit will also required for the proposed project located at 431 College Road.

Despite limited notice the meeting was well attended, primarily by nearby residents who mostly spoke in opposition to the project. Concerns include loss of views, increased traffic, slope stabilization, traffic flow during construction , parking, scale of the building, lack of nearby public amenities, and pedestrian safety in the nearby area.

The Care Group, a family owned company as the developer of this project, has roots in Qualicum Beach since the 1920's. This will be an additional facility in our town, as they see a tremendous need for care services. They commented that people are dying in their homes not by choice, but due to a lack of services. Wait lists have been up to 3 years in the Gardens facility.

The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) has plans for facilities in Lantzville (300 beds) and in Comox but no plans for any facility in between. The goal of this project is to reduce wait times and shortened driving distances for family and visitors. The developer believes that people deserve to live all their lives in the community of their choice and not be shuffled off to some other community 30 to 40 minutes away.

Gavin Mcintosh V.P. of the Care Group confirmed that The Gardens currently has 357 day wait time to move into subsidized care units confirming that VIHA is not building at a fast enough rate to meet the demand, leaving seniors to live in unsafe conditions. Although some people have been diagnosed as needing 24/7 care, there is simply no place for them to go.

The proponent of the project shared the market need demand analysis for this project by referring to work done by Kate Manor a specialist in the care field. Highlights of her work indicates that there are currently approximately 2600 people age 85+ in TQB and Parksville. That number is estimated to grow to approximately 7800 over the next 10 years.

In 5 years TQB will need 90 additional independent living suites, and 211 long term care units. In 10 years those numbers will grow to 180 additional independent living suites and 552 long term care beds to meet the needs of seniors in the 85+ segment of the community.

Another important point made by the developer was with respect to scale. Given the price of land, and operating costs, these projects need to be in the range of 150 beds to be economically achievable. Fraser Health Authority currently has an RFP out specifying for a minimum size of 150 beds. The Lantzville project is 300 beds which results in a more institutional feel to the facility which is less desirable. As the provincial and federal governments are cash strapped, what typically happens is that these projects are privately funded using a private pay model and since the project is of the scale necessary to provide care at a cost that both individuals can afford and the public health authorities can afford, at some point the health authorities contract some of the beds to provide subsidized units. Across the multiple facilities owned by The Care Group between 60 to 70 % of their beds are subsidized and the same is expected for this new project.

Considerable care has been incorporated into the scale and design of the building despite significant challenges with the ravine and existing underground parkade on the site. Compared to other recent proposals within the town, this start point for the design is a far more attractive project than we usually see. The design team has given reference to the previous Old College Inn, in their attempt to make the project fit within the community's "character" expectations. The one story entry pavilion, three storeys in the front, 4th and 5th storeys are built into the roof lines help to reduce the building scale and massing considering the neighbouring two storey strata building. And while perhaps bigger than some would like to see, this is indeed the scale necessary to be economically viable not unlike other projects in town including the recently completed affordable housing project, Residences at Qualicum Station on Railway Street.

Next steps for this project are a public Information meeting for the general public and a formal public hearing . No dates have been announced at this point.

Personally, I am excited to see this project proceed as clearly there is a real need for this type of housing which allows more of us to remain in Qualicum Beach in our final years. We are fortunate that this group has ties to our community and is prepared to invest their private funds in our town when our provincial government fails to deliver the services we clearly need. Hopefully our town council and staff will find a way to expedite the approval process and the project will not become a victim of the mass reallocation of staffing resources resulting from the proposed golf course lands acquisition.

Note: This article was first published on July 25th and has been corrected to reflect that the Qualicum Manor was previously operated by the Care Group.

Marie Noel

July 31 2025

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Link to Committee of the whole July 23 2025 meeting video

Link to Committee of the Whole July 23 2025 meeting agenda package with staff report