Sudbury couple turns former school into housing for seniors

A couple from Greater Sudbury has transformed a former elementary school into a rental for seniors looking to downsize.

Dominion Estates offers 19 units for seniors, ranging from one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Price ranges from $1,500 to $2,600 per month.

Krista and Kevin Vis run Dominion Construction. Two years ago, they decided to purchase the former Pinecrest Public School, which closed a number of years ago.

Krista Vis said her husband grew up in the area and went to school there, so the purchase held some sentimental value. She said they chose to offer the rentals to seniors based on market research.

“Our market research has shown there’s not much opportunity for something like this in the Valley specifically that’s geared towards retirement communities,” Krista said.

She said there are a number of vacant schools that could be used to address a housing shortage.

“A lot of these schools are abandoned so people don’t know what to do with them, so we thought this was a great opportunity,” she said.

The need for housing and rentals has increased since the pandemic began. In its 2022 report, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation said vacancy rate for rentals in Greater Sudbury was at a 10-year low of 2.3 per cent.

Adam Haight, Sudbury Real Estate Board president, said the issue is lack of supply meeting increased demand.

“If there’s an imbalance between supply and demand it starts pushing people back to the rental market,” Haight said.

“Unfortunately we’re in a situation where we don’t have a lot of rentals right now either, so when you have a shortage of supply in the housing market and the rental market, prices start going up, which makes it unaffordable for some people.”

Krista said it was quite the undertaking to turn the abandoned building into a rental.

“Actually when we walked through, Sudbury police used to do practice target shooting here so there was so much graffiti,” she said.

“It was incredible the difference that we see here today.”

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She said additional measures were taken during the design process to ensure it was accessible for older adults.

“The wider doors, the wider hallways, the bathrooms for those that have accessibility issues, that would require a walker or a wheelchair, we took all of that into consideration.”

Currently, renovations are underway to create a gym and a common area for tenants to host larger family gatherings. Tenants will be allowed to move in as of June 1.

Vis said she’s pleased with the level of interest. Currently, Dominion Estates is currently at 40 per cent capacity.

Phase two of Dominion Estates will begin in the fall, which will include townhomes geared towards senior living. Vis said completion date for Phase 2 is spring 2024.