Courtesy - Pioneer Lodge
Lloydminster city council will be asked next week to commit about $3.5 million to a $44-million rebuild of Pioneer Lodge’s oldest wing.
The Lloydminster Region Housing Group wants to replace 41 aging lodge units with 65 new ones. City Manager Dion Pollard presented the plan to the Governance and Priorities Committee on Monday.
The group needs funding commitments from its municipal partners before Nov. 1 to apply for more money, according to a city report.
Why the wing is being replaced
Mayor Gerald Aalbers called the 1960s wing the oldest part of the lodge. He said it has no air conditioning.
“If anybody has been in that building in the summertime, the residents are almost cooking,” said Aalbers.
He said wiring limits mean residents cannot run two fans in one room.
“I’d hate to put my mom in there where she doesn’t have her own private bathroom and she has to go out into the hallway to go and shower,” said Coun. David Lopez.
Pollard said the lodge and independent living units are full, with waitlists of 20 to 45 residents at any time. The project would add a net 24 spaces.
Plans also include a new commercial kitchen, dining room, lounge, library, chapel and fitness space. Construction would be phased so residents stay housed.
“This feels very urgent to me, and urgent not just in affordable housing and being a hub, but really from the standpoint of creating some wellness and some dignity for our seniors in our region,” said Coun. Michele Charles Gustafson.
How it would be paid for
The city’s share is $3,513,868 as a one-time capital payment. That is just under 70 per cent of a $5,037,240 request to the group’s municipal partners.
The split follows each partner’s equalized assessment, a formula set by the province. Only the Alberta side of Lloydminster counts in the city’s share.
The County of Vermilion River would pay $1,300,875. Kitscoty, Marwayne and Paradise Valley would cover the rest.
The city’s report puts the project at $38.6 million. That figure covers construction and contingency. With land, design, financing and other costs, the group’s breakdown reaches $43.9 million.
Pollard cautioned the estimate could be off by minus 20 to plus 30 per cent.
The plan lists $26.8 million in grants, an $8.4 million loan, $2.5 million of the group’s own cash and land valued at $1.2 million. None of the grant money is confirmed.
The loan runs 50 years at 4.65 per cent. The group projects rent will cover payments with a surplus of about $41,000 a year. Pollard said the plan does not ask the city for ongoing operating money.
Lopez said the thin surplus can worry people.
“One bad day or one bad month and that money is gone,” said Lopez.
He said the projection leaves out rent from the group’s own offices, worth $24,000 to $30,000 a year, plus internet, TV and laundry revenue.
“The bigger question we had was is 50 years too long to take to repay it, because paying a bill over 50 years means you’ve probably paid twice to three times over,” said Coun. Michael Diachuk.
How the city could pay of Lodge expansion
A city administration member outlined three options for the city’s share.
“It’d be about a 7 per cent tax increase if we did it all at once. So it’s really not an option that I would recommend,” said the administration member.
Paying fully from reserves would strain the capital budget, which was about 72 per cent reserve-funded in 2026. The administration member called debt “likely the most feasible option.”
Pollard said payments would probably not reach the books until about 2028. That would spare the 2027 budget.
What happens next
Pollard said the item returns to council next week. Diachuk said the earliest provincial approval would come in January or February 2027, with construction likely starting in 2028.
“What they’re trying to do is not say no to projects but rather when,” said Diachuk, describing a meeting with the provincial minister.
Diachuk said a fire at the lodge means the group “can’t sit back and wait.”
A councillor asked where the other partners stand. Pollard said the county and three villages are going through the same approval process.
“There’s support in principle by everybody, and I think the bigger challenge that we’re seeing is the question of operational viability going forward and sustainability,” said Diachuk.
The lodge takes residents from both sides of the border. Pollard said the city will also lobby the Saskatchewan government.
“I think that it is a very worthy project, it’s just a matter of how does it move forward,” said Aalbers.
Read More: Grandchildren or rent: some Lloydminster seniors must choose
