Developer says Knowlton dementia treatment centre died with pool funding
Another week of intense exchanges on the “Knowlton.com Facebook page” while signatures were being gathered on the petition asking council to revisit the pool project resulted in the revelation of a purported lost opportunity for the town. Concurrent to the plans for the pool project another one had been quietly waiting in the wings, according to a local developer.
The resurgence of the idea of building an aquatic complex as an annex to the existing TBL Community Centre has continued to spark dialogue between the naysayers, the pro-project people, and those sitting on the fence. An explanation by Knowlton resident Danny Williams on Friday evening methodically outlined why he was relieved that there might me some hope in making the pool project happen.
Williams’ specific response about the possibilities of bringing in new businesses elicited a surprise disclosure by Sutton entrepreneur and developer Pierre Louis Beauregard about a plan that he says would have seen the establishment of a residential care center for people with varying types of dementia, stipulating that it would be on condition that the pool project would materialize. Beauregard said that news in late summer 2016 that the federal and provincial governments were turning down a grant request for the TBL pool project was the determining factor for the planning committee to seek another municipality to work with.
He said that the key element that drew them to Knowlton had been the prospect of having an aquatics complex, medical facility, and community centre in a central location at their disposal. “It was imperative to have the pool for this project because it was providing great opportunities for existing treatments and to experiment with new treatments.” Although it would be classified as a private facility, Beauregard explained that, once built, the government would then “buy” beds because they do not have enough space in their longterm care facilities.
Beauregard said that two years ago he headed up a three-person planning committee along with five investors set to build a multi-million dollar project on vacant land close to the TBL Community Centre. “Our project was going to help the community to deal with the issue of people afflicted with dementia. After much deliberation and research we chose Knowlton for its site because it was ideal with the pool and its centralized location.” He explained that when treating patients it is important to treat family members too.
Beauregard claims that there would have initially been 40 to 50 well-paying jobs with salaries $45,000 and upwards. The plan also took into consideration a second phase for new homes to be built.
When the TBL project fell, the $12 million custom-built dementia care home fell with it. “We’ve bitten our tongues since the announcement last summer,” said Beauregard. Since now there might be a second chance to make the pool project happen, he wanted to let people know what had happened behind the scenes. “Our project is still on the stove, but we’ve moved on from Knowlton. Without the pool, Knowlton was no longer a good fit. I am sure that with the pool project, if accepted, there will be other opportunities like ours.”
Mayor Richard Burcombe says he was aware Beauregard’s plan. Burcombe said that it had not been formally presented to council but with what information he knew he thought it was a good plan and made a lot of sense. At the time of the informal discussion the pool project was still waiting for support from the governments, which made it impossible for the dementia care centre project to be developed into a formal business plan and therefore there was no sense in bringing it to the public. “You don’t announce a multimillion-dollar project before it’s good to go. Your investors won’t let you do that,” explained Beauregard. Clearly disappointed with the outcome in Knowlton, Beauregard underlined that the “Knowlton side of politics had been very welcoming. We even met with some clinic officials because they, too, have to be on side with a project like this. But we didn’t expect the pool to fall into the water per se,” he said.
Jessica Brown said on Sunday evening that the weeklong exercise to obtain support on the pool project has resulted in over 1,000 signatures on the petition.