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Empty downtown lot will be transformed starting next week

A brand-new retirement home will break ground in the lot next to Banners Restaurant on Tuesday
38624campbellriverBerwick
This graphical rendering shows what will become of the empty lot in between Banners Restaurant and McDonald’s – Berwick by the Sea

A brand-new retirement home will break ground in the lot next to Banners Restaurant on Tuesday.

The owners of Berwick Retirement Communities and Mayor Walter Jakeway will be on hand for a ceremony to kick off construction on Berwick’s newest facility.

“Berwick Retirement Communities is excited to be building our newest Retirement Community – Berwick by the Sea,” according to a press release. “Becoming a part of the City of Campbell River is an honour.”

The 133-unit, six-storey, state-of-the-art facility will break ground Tuesday afternoon on two empty downtown lots situated on the corner of 16th Avenue and Roberts’ Reach, across from McDonald’s.

While the retirement complex is not expected to open until at least the fall of 2014, Jessica Stigant, a community relations manager for Berwick, said in February that several people had already been asking about the facility.

“We’ve had lots of interest in it and people wanting to sign up,” Stigant said. “There’s a lot of pretty excited people wanting to go on the wait list.”

Once opened, Berwick by the Sea will cater to independent seniors who are looking for  someone to cook and clean for them.

The facility will offer a games room, an exercise room, a small theatre, two lawn bowling greens, a bistro and a rooftop garden and greenhouse where residents can socialize with one another.

Berwick by the Sea will also feature ground level gardens and landscaping, with a walking path that will circle the building.

The facility will offer studio rooms, one-bedroom and two-bedroom rooms, and a penthouse.

Residents will pay a monthly rate which will include meals, recreational programs, emergency response services, heat and Hydro.

Berwick by the Sea will be the company’s sixth facility, joining complexes in Comox, Kamloops, Nanaimo and two in Victoria.

Berwick was established in 1989, with the opening of its first building, Berwick House, in Victoria.