One of Sudbury's well-known retirement homes celebrated a grand re-opening Friday. The event was held to officially celebrate the completion of the expansion project at the Autumnwood Mature Lifestyles Red Oak Villa, located on Ste. Anne Road.
Justine Landry, operations manager for Autumnwood. which operates the facility, said the expansion has more than doubled the number of suites available.
"Red Oak Villa was a pre-established retirement community. We originally began operations in 2006, and we had 84 retirement suites. We have now officially completed construction on 122 additional units. So we're at a total of 206 suites," Landry said.
She said the expansion is more than just new suites.
"We've also added a lot of common space, state-of-the-art fitness room, a pub, a lounge, a brand new chef's kitchen, a new dining room, and all of this beautiful courtyard," she said.
Landry said the expansion means more room and Red Oak is now welcoming new residents
"So typically, our target occupancy is individuals over the age of 60, who are independent and want to maintain their independence. Really, you know, making the choice to move into a retirement community doesn't necessarily mean that you have to have a need, it just means that you are opening a new chapter of your life. When you move into a community like this, there's a whole team of people waiting to support you and do a lot of the more challenging aspects of homeownership for you," Landry said.
She said feedback from the older residents has indicated that most of them enjoy the sense of security from living in a formal retirement community.
"Living in a community like this, we have 24-hour support staff here available to respond in the event of an emergency. So an individual can very easily live here without necessarily having daily support from the staff. But knowing that if there were an emergency, they could, you know, pull a call bell within their suite, and a staff member would come running ready to help them with whatever they need. It provides that sense of security for a lot of older adults," Landry explained.
She said another positive aspect for residents is being close to the downtown core.
"Many residents really value, you know, being in close proximity to shopping at the mall. There are a lot of religious offerings in this neighbourhood, as well as access to pharmacies, primary care clinics. Really, anything that a senior may need is for the most part just steps out of our doors."
Those wishing to learn more can check out the website www.autumnwood.ca.
