Collaborative effort brings displaced residents back to Stayner

Following a fire that ravaged the Belmont, a private retirement residence in Stayner, residents have found a temporary home.

After a fire at a private retirement home forced the closure of Highway 26 and displaced residents in January, residents have moved into a temporary home, thanks to some quick thinking from Clearview Township and the owners of The Belmont.

Donna and Ken Russell were living in The Belmont when the fire happened but are both thankful to be in their new space.

“It’s really wonderful what they’ve done here,” said Ken Russell. “It’s amazing the short time they had that they got this all ready and it’s great for us to come here.”

And while their current accommodation is good, some are still missing the former building.

“It was a beautiful building, I love it and I hope to get back there sometime,” said Donna Russell. “But the staff is absolutely wonderful and if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here. And the firemen, and the paramedics, I’ve got to give them a lot of credit.”

Jon Wells, one of the owners of The Belmont, said 20 residents were displaced by the fire and moved to a hotel in Midland. The goal was to find a new temporary space closer to Stayner.

“We’re very fortunate to have a lot of help to get this place cleaned, painted and furnished. Within about a two-week period since the fire, you know, the older residents are back here,” said Wells.

Clearview Township Mayor Doug Measures was at the scene of the fire in January and knew the Township had to step in and help the residents.

“Residents have been able to move back to the Stayner area and the jobs have been moved back to our community,” said Measures. “So, I’m very pleased that they’re here in our community and I think that’s where the residents want to be.”

Their temporary residence, a former long-term care home, was bought by the Township and was slated for renovations.

“We basically halted the renovations so that we could enter into a lease agreement for The Belmont to occupy this space,” said Measures. “And we’re really pleased that they’ve been able to move in and it looks great and I think the residents are really happy.”

Both Wells and Measures confirmed to CTV News it is a two-year lease agreement.

“We’re really pleased to work as a partner with The Belmont organization as we have a strong lease agreement with them that allows them to use this public facility and maintain those jobs and maintain those residents right here in our community,” said Measures.

Wells added work is already being done on the building that sustained the fire, hoping residents can move back in as quickly as possible.

“We’ve already got our demolition permit in place, and the back half of the building will be coming down,” said Wells. “The rest of the building except for the century home portion is getting gutted to the studs, so we’re in there doing that now. We’re doing the cleanup on the century home portion, we’re gutting all the drywall insulation as we speak and we’re hoping to have it back together in a year.”