Labrador town building 40 more homes for seniors amid housing crisis

Marion Parsons is enjoying her new home in a recently-created seniors’ community in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The 77-year-old and her 76-year-old husband moved into one of the project’s 32 affordable apartments on Nov. 1. “It’s beautiful, comfy. I enjoy it,” she says, likening her new neighbourhood to “a little town.”

Parsons says the seniors’ living community was long overdue, and that it’s been wonderful living closer to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“We can come over for suppers—uninvited too, sometimes,” Parsons’ daughter Melody Blackmore laughs, describing her mother’s new home as “really cozy.”

The 32 units are owned and operated by the Happy Valley-Goose Bay Housing and Homelessness Coalition. Now, the non-profit has received a conditional letter of approval from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation for 40 more units in the same area. 

“There’s a huge demand for senior housing,” says Jackie Compton-Hobbs, executive director of the coalition and Happy Valley-Goose Bay’s deputy mayor, adding the group’s “vision is to build a personal care home.”

The personal care home would have 20 units, Compton-Hobbs says, explaining it could eventually be expanded to include a five-bed hospice on site. Seniors could age in place while remaining connected to their community without needing to move into the hospital, she says.

“My motto is, ‘Go big or go home,’ and I will stick to that because look how fast this has become a reality in over little over a year,” Compton-Hobbs says.

For years the Housing and Homelessness Coalition has been advocating for those experiencing homelessness but formally incorporated as a non-profit in March 2022. Soon after, the group applied for funding from Reaching Home, a federal government initiative aimed at reducing homelessness, bought its first fourplex, and people moved in in November, 2022.  

The coalition was able to fill the fourplex and support the people inside with accessible, affordable housing and decided to expand. In July, 2024, they received funding for 32 units for the seniors’ apartments. 

“And we’re sitting here now […] and these apartments are built and the tenants moved in Nov. 1, 2025 — so just over a little over a year,” said Compton-Hobbs. 

Compton-Hobbs says the coalition has multiple funders, including the federal and provincial governments, but wants to keep the private investors confidential. The timeline was relatively quick from the point of receiving the grant to people moving in because the non-profit partnered with Glenn Noseworthy, the developer who owns the land. 

The homes were built fully accessible, with no stairs, and major appliances all included, Compton-Hobbs explains. There’s also a walking trail on the property with plans to add a garden, gazebo, benches, a greenhouse and more. “All of our thinking was about seniors aging in place with dignity and respect and integrity,” Compton-Hobbs says. 

Many of the seniors were previously paying as much as $2,000 per month in rent, a significant cost for those on a fixed pension. Some were forced to choose between paying rent on time, or food or prescriptions, Compton-Hobbs says. Seniors living in the new complex pay a fixed monthly rent of $700. 

Between the affordability and confronting the isolation many seniors face, Compton-Hobbs believes the new community will also improve residents’ mental health since they now have an ability to interact with neighbours who are also seniors.

“It’s going to improve 150 per cent. I already see that,” she says. “It’s a good situation for everyone.”

Compton-Hobbs says she’s hopeful the coalition can swiftly move on to the next project. “We’re shovel-ready up here for a personal care home. The coalition would take it on and operate it, but we need operational dollars. So that’s the discussions I’m looking forward to.”