The provincial government is renovating and replacing aging long-term seniors care facilities in Kelowna.
Health Minister Adrian Dix made the announcement at Mission Creek Landing seniors home on June 28.
“This facility has served us well, but it is time to move on to a new facility.”
Mission Creek Landing opened in the 1970s.
The first phase of the redevelopment and expansion of the existing Mission Creek (3081 Hall Road) includes 131 long-term care beds set to open on Oct. 31. This includes 101 existing beds that will be relocated from the current facility and 30 new beds.
Phase 2 will start with the remaining 110 new beds expected to open in late 2026, with all beds publicly funded. The facility will have a total of 241 long-term care beds.
Dix noted there are 17 senior facilities in B.C. built at least 54 years ago that are still operating.
“And a long-term care home built before 1970 is not meeting modern standards.”
The minister also announced that Cottonwoods Care Centre (2255 Ethel Street) will be replaced with a new facility.
A new four-storey long-term care home will be built at the location, and once complete, Cottonwoods increase from 221 beds to 314. The original building was constructed in 1976.
Dix added the new facility and renovations will address pressing space and design challenges of the existing Cottonwoods Care Centre.
“These are peoples’ homes and to the extent that we can we need to treat people like they’re at home even when they’re struggling physically in long-term care.”
Construction will start in 2026 and be completed in 2029 at a cost of nearly $187 million, shared by the province through Interior Health and the Central Okanagan Regional Hospital District (CORHD).
“Long-term care is a vital resource,” Blair Ireland, CORHD chair noted. “We appreciate how the ministry has come forward to not only build more but build homes.”
Over the past five years, the government has invested approximately $2 billion to expand and improve the quality of care for seniors in British Columbia.
