'Warm, toasty' housing development for seniors opens in North Sydney

Erin Pottie · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 26, 2025 8:47 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 27

A Cape Breton lodging task that was imagined by a assemblage radical arsenic a mode to assistance struggling seniors has officially opened.

Members of a section nutrient bank, who had been proceeding from retirees having occupation keeping up with their bills, including precocious rent and nutrient costs, came up with the idea about six years ago following the closure of Seton Elementary School successful North Sydney.

The enactment led the complaint to instrumentality ownership of the gathering and alteration it into a multi-use hub.

Jimmy MacKinnon and his woman Debbie, among the facility's caller tenants, had been uncovering it progressively challenging to support their agrarian home. The mates lived successful Frenchvale, N.S., for 45 years and regularly chopped wood to vigor their home.

"I couldn't bash it anymore for wellness reasons," said MacKinnon. "We were lucky, similar I said, to get this. Just the load of looking aft your ain place, the upkeep. It was hard and it got harder arsenic we got older."

The MacKinnons moved into the analyzable a mates of months ago. They person since made the abstraction consciousness similar location by decorating the extracurricular of their flat with woody signs and colourful flowers.

The erstwhile schoolhouse is location to 19 one- and two-bedroom units. Rental fees, with vigor and lights included, range from $625 to $800 per period — good beneath the marketplace complaint for similar apartments successful the community. 

The gathering besides contains a assemblage kitchen, nutrient pantry and hairsbreadth salon. On the grounds are respective plot boxes for seasonal vegetables. 

"[This] is simply a afloat incorporated and encompassed benignant of installation that the assemblage tin observe and beryllium portion of," said Cecil Clarke, politician of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, astatine an lawsuit Thursday to unveil the project.

It was built with $1.7 cardinal from the national government through the Affordable Housing Fund and $1.6 cardinal from Nova Scotia's Department of Growth and Development.

Liberal MP Mike Kelloway said lodging affordability is an contented his authorities is trying to address, with the assistance of organizations similar the North Sydney Food Bank Society.  

"You're the solution," helium said. "You're the thought makers, you're the radical who are successful the foxhole each azygous day."

Lawrence Shebib, co-chair of the nutrient slope society, said determination were 4 times more applicants who were successful hunt of lodging than determination were disposable apartments.  

"So there's a existent request successful the assemblage for more," helium said.

MacKinnon said helium and his woman person made caller friends since moving into the analyzable and helium recommends the benignant of surviving to anyone who has reached an age wherever maintaining their home has go difficult. 

"There's nary stress, there's perfectly none. It is escaped and casual and warm, toasty," said MacKinnon. "This utilized to beryllium a classroom, judge it oregon not. And the occupation these guys did, the tradesmen, it's unreal."