By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
The former Knowlbanks retirement home in Knowlton will be converted into a 42-unit apartment complex. Excelsoins, the Pointe-Claire-based private company which managed the seniors’ home until its closure in 2023, confirmed its intentions to go ahead with the conversion after a register held last week failed to obtain enough signatures to trigger a referendum.
Excelsoins closed the home in March 2023 after struggling to recruit qualified staff amid a prolonged provincewide labour shortage. Excelsoins director of asset management Patrice Brillon said the decision to convert the building into apartments was made soon after the closure. The project was presented to the town’s urban planning committee in early 2024, and received preliminary approval from council in April.
Current zoning regulations in the area allow for a building with a maximum of 32 units, so Excelsoins had to apply to the Town of Brome Lake (TOBL) for a zoning exemption (known by the French acronym PPCMOI) to build more than that number. As part of that process, the project was subjected to a public consultation and a register of neighbourhood residents. Of the 39 signatures that would have been necessary to trigger a referendum, only 11 were received, TOBL director general Gilbert Arel confirmed.
Brillon said Excelsoins intends to move forward with construction after the project has been approved by the MRC – usually a formality. The building will include one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments along with a gym for residents and storage space.
“The conversion requires a partial redevelopment of existing spaces to create modern housing, while integrating living spaces for the well-being of our tenants, such as a gym. We plan to redevelop and build 3 ½ [one-bedroom] apartments ranging from 650 to 810 sq. ft. and 4 ½ [two-bedroom] apartments ranging from 850 to 1,175 sq. ft. A wing of the building, which already has modern suites, will be redeveloped to merge certain spaces and quickly create these very large apartments,” Brillon said.
According to an Excelsoins presentation, the company intends to put the first 15 apartments on the market before the end of 2024; the remaining apartments will be available in 2025.
Brillon said Excelsoins did not have a specific target market in mind for the new apartments, and that the rent had not yet been fixed. “From the beginning, affordable housing has been a central part of our plan. We recognize the critical need in the community, and are currently exploring options to effectively address it,” he said. “A final decision on the inclusion of affordable housing will be made shortly.” The company does not plan to set aside any units for social housing.
Arel said the project fit in well with the town’s housing plan, announced earlier this year. “We found that there was not a very good mix of homes available – there are plenty of high-end single-family homes available, but not everyone will buy those homes. This fits in well with the idea of our housing plan, to have a better mix. Part of why the council moved ahead with [the project] was that they thought it was a good way to convert the building in an optimal way, to offer units for which there is a demand.”