Construction of long-delayed Sask. nursing home project to resume

WATCH: Construction of a long delayed nursing home project in Grenfell, Sask. will resume this summer. Wayne Mantyka has more.

Construction of a long-delayed nursing home project in Grenfell will resume this summer.

A sod turning was held nearly two years ago but work did not move ahead because of higher than expected construction costs.

Grenfell residents are excited to hear that construction will resume on the facility. Tyler Tomlinson, a pharmacist in the community, said it has been a long time coming.

• Download the CTV News app for local breaking news alerts on your mobile device

“It’s something that people have been a little skeptical of at times over the last 30 years but it’s also something that we’ve really pushed for and so it’s a bit of a culmination of a lot of hard work by a lot of people,” he explained.

Grenfell has been without a long-term care home since 2015 when mold forced permanent closure of an existing facility.

• Province shutting down Grenfell nursing home due to mould

The residents and jobs moved to neighbouring communities. Now, PCL Construction has been awarded a contract to build a new nursing home at the edge of the community.

“It’s huge for the community,” Grenfell Mayor Mark Steininger said. “We’ve been waiting such a long time and there are so many people that have wanted their loved ones to be close and they’ve had to be far away.”

It follows a failed attempt in the fall of 2023 to get the nursing home project off the ground. A sod turning was held but construction costs came in too high, so the province went back to the drawing board.

“There was some consultations with the community to make sure this was the right size for the community and the community came back with that recommendation that let’s proceed with 33 beds so that’s what we’re doing, and what’s great to see is now that project is moving forward,” MLA Kevin Weedmark said.  

It will take about two years to complete the 33-bed nursing home. After years of waiting, the government is saying with certainty that the project is going ahead.