Local company enters seniors health-care market

Fort Amherst Properties Inc. (formerly Pennecon Realty) announced Tuesday its entry into the seniors housing market through a new company, Bishops Gardens Seniors Living LP.

Mike Powell, the company’s vice-president of health services, is an expert in the financing and development of retirement homes, a news release states.

The release also notes that “the first major development project undertaken by Fort Amherst Properties will be the revitalization of the historic Bishops College into a stateof-the-art seniors health-care campus to be known as Bishops Gardens. The goal of the project is to help older adults ‘agein-place’ and foster choice and independence, and to provide the necessary support to help individuals live their best lives.”

Bishops Gardens Personal Care Home, set to open in the fall of 2020, will be an 82-suite, fully licensed facility featuring chef-inspired meals, landscaped green spaces, a beauty salon, a pub and a country kitchen.

In addition to the personal care home, the campus will also feature The Suites at Bishops — 19 independent-living seniors apartments. Residents will have their own dedicated lounge and amenity spaces, and will also have the option of purchasing meals, care or cleaning services on an a-la-carte basis.

“With our partners, we are thrilled to be providing such a wide variety of senior-friendly services in the heart of St. John’s,” Powell stated.

“Our facility and location are such that we will be able to provide highly complementary services in a way that currently does not exist in our market. As the campus expands over time, we look forward to being able to further extend the services provided to provide even more types of care to senior citizens.”