More than five decades ago, a volunteer with the now-defunct Burquitlam Lions Club and the mayor of Coquitlam got together to fill a need in the community.
Larry Fleming was tasked to raise the money and Mayor Leslie James “Jimmy” Christmas found the land to build units for independent seniors in Coquitlam.
In 1971, the LJ Christmas Manor on Austin Avenue opened with 134 suites — a nonprofit facility run by a volunteer board to help tenants on limited incomes.
Today, its directors and administrators overseeing the 10-storey concrete building are looking at the booming neighbourhood and the next half century, and hoping to accommodate the ever-growing demand for affordable seniors housing by pivoting into a “preservation mode” with building retrofits.
And tomorrow, Oct. 10, staff, tenants and community partners will celebrate the next move at an open house by officially rebranding LJ Christmas Manor as LJ Christmas Apartments and announcing its upcoming physical changes.
Two of Christmas’ granddaughters, as well as relatives of Fleming, a Freedom of the City recipient who lived at LJC, as it’s known now, will be at the event and the shovel that broke the ground 53 years ago will also be brought out.
Building 'evolution'
In an interview with the Tri-City News today, Oct. 9, general manager Kathy Knight said the evolution of LJC came as the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
A pipe burst, which then led to appearance updates to the building’s common rooms thanks to Knight and Lesley Dempster, LJC’s special projects manager.
When staff and the board of directors considered other properties for seniors housing and realized the cost of land and hefty price tag to build new, they confirmed LJC was worth saving and looked at how to improve its capital asset.
With federal and provincial grants, which they are applying for now through a project consultant, they hope to secure enough funding for energy efficiencies (e.g., window conversions, heating and cooling controls in each unit) and make accessibility and functionality upgrades to 36 units, among other items on their bucket list for updates.
This year, they’ve also branched out with partnerships, including with the Seniors Services Society of B.C. to receive referrals and the Immigration Link Centre Society to provide space and resources for its food donation program.
As well, they recently launched a website and a Facebook social media page to get the word out, and to attract tenants and corporate sponsors.
LJC tenants
Dempster said the majority of the referrals from Seniors Services Society are for people 60 and up facing “renovictions” — i.e., being evicted for renovations.
Knowing they have safe and secure permanent housing is good for their well-being, said Bill Cox, a director who joined the volunteer board two years ago.
Still, Knight said with the changes come disruptions: As of this year, tenants are no longer receiving meal service, a return to the back-to-basics model.
And staff are also not being replaced, allowing for a more efficient use of labour and keeping the rents low: starting at $1,050 a month for a 310 sq. ft. home (about 80 per cent of the tenants receive government subsidies for housing).
Organized activities have also stopped, which has contributed to lower rents.
“We felt that we really needed to focus on the housing only,” Knight said.
“There have been lots of tough decisions in the last couple of years," she added.
"We have done a lot of untangling, but we are the landlords and we want this building to be around in 50 years. By making these changes, we know we are doing the right thing by keeping costs down. And everything we do, we have the tenants in mind.”
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