Premier Darrell Pasloski, Yukon MP Ryan Leef, Senator Dan Lang and housing minister Brad Cathers were armed with a giant pair of scissors Thursday to officially open the newest Yukon Housing Corp. project – the 34-unit seniors’ apartment building at 207 Alexander St.

The building was officially opened with the ribbon-cutting, official speeches and tours.

It will likely be another two weeks, however, before the final touches on the units are done and residents begin moving in.

The elected officials were quick to note the accomplishment in making 34 new accessible housing units available to seniors on a project that came in $4 million under the original anticipated budget. They also recalled the short two-year period it took from starting to plan the $12.7-million housing project to the ribbon-cutting.

It was Rick Goodfellow who was pleased to show off the features of four of the one-bedroom barrier-free apartments, aimed specifically at tenants with disabilities.

Goodfellow co-chaired the accessibility committee that was tasked with looking at ways to make the units as accessible for tenants as possible.

“This is a good example of what we call universally accessible,” he said as he showed off the features of one of the four barrier-free units, pushing a button to lower the sink, then raising it by hitting the upper part of the button.

As he pointed out, it’s a feature that works well if you’re in a wheel-chair or taller than most.

Goodfellow was then quick to press another button; this one lowering a cabinet and moving it away from the wall.

“The only thing you want to be careful of is you don’t have anything on the cupboard (below),” he said as the cabinet lowered. The stove top will have a similar feature.

To those standing in the room – the “temporarily able-bodied,” he joked as he spoke of aging in place – Goodfellow said the apartments serve as homes where tenants can age in place so that it meets their needs long into the future.

Ceiling heights might not immediately come to mind when people think accessibility.

As Goodfellow noted, though, in past developments, there have been issues when the ceilings in each room aren’t at the same level and a drop track needs to be installed for a tenant.

With that in mind, the ceiling in each room – the kitchen/living room, bathroom, bedroom and utility room are all at the same level, making it easy to drop a track in if need be.

Rather than have dishwashers in the corner, thereby eliminating access on one side, they will be installed in the middle of the kitchen cupboards, thereby allowing access on either side.

Though the bathrooms in all units come equipped with a number of grab bars, if there’s a need for new ones or a change, it’s a fairly easy process.

Thick, 3/4-inch plywood means that grab bars can be easily installed without having to search for studs behind the wall.

Hard-surface flooring throughout the apartment building means it’s easier for residents to move around.

“We’re really pleased with the whole way it turned out,” Goodfellow said.

When he was first asked to chair the committee, he later commented, he was concerned that establishing the committee was simply “window-dressing”.

He recalled a two-hour meeting early in the process where committee members made up of stakeholders talked about what was needed, and it became clear that the needs of various interests were the same.

At the next meeting, he was pleased when housing corporation officials returned with plans incorporating many of the suggestions from the earlier sessions.

Plans for carpeted floors, for example, gave way to hard-surfaced flooring for greater accessibility and other features all became part of the building.

“The hard-surface flooring is critical,” Goodfellow said.

Down to the fire alarms which not only sound, but also flash a light to alarm the hearing-impaired, residents’ needs were considered.

While the barrier-free units feature a walk-in shower, the more standard units have a tub, but with a lower-threshold for those may have difficulty raising a leg over the side.

The building also features a common room, shared laundry facilities and a heated front entry which will serve as a spot for residents to plug in scooters and a warm waiting area for residents waiting for a drive, it was noted during the formal speeches.

A number of tenants from the building are coming from other Yukon Housing units.

As Matt King, the corporation’s vice-president of operations, said in an interview during the tour, about 12 residents (defined as those over 65 or those over 55 who have mobility challenges) who will be moving in are coming from other Yukon Housing units. The remainder have been on a waiting list for social housing.

That means those units residents are moving from will open for others on the waiting list.

Yukon Housing charges a rental rate of 25 per cent of a resident’s income on its units.

While work on the Alexander Street building is wrapping up, it appears the work of the accessibility committee is only beginning.

King said the housing corporation plans to work with the committee on plans for the 48-unit senior’s building Yukon Housing is planning.

“Seniors are the fastest-growing demographic group in Yukon, and this government is ensuring they be suitably housed,”said Cathers.

“Many of these seniors helped to build the Yukon and its communities, and we have built them a safe, comfortable, accessible and affordable place to live.”

The site’s previous 50-year-old seniors’ residence, which had been extensively renovated in the 1980s, was demolished.