The silence at at Nelson’s biggest construction site will end soon.
Work will start again in a few weeks at the seniors housing project known as The Waterview in the 600 block Vernon Street.
The shutdown, which has lasted several weeks, was caused by a supply chain problem, says Joe Schlacter of Vendure Retirement Communities, the Kelowna company building the project.
Schlacter said the delay originates with the supplier of a prefabricated panel system.
“They’ve been struggling for quite some time now, and we’ve been trying to help them limp along. But it came to a head about six weeks ago. And we had to finally dig in our heels and separate ways here.”
Schlacter said that even before the recent shutdown, the project had been slowed down for several months by this issue, to the point where the completion date has now been pushed back from this summer to next winter.
“That building should be standing up and the roof should be going on right now,” he said. “And we have maybe half the first floor on.”
The Waterview will offer 125 one- and two-bedroom rental apartments to seniors. This will include assisted living services provided by nurses and other staff if requested, for a fee.
The six-storey building will rise four floors above Vernon Street with two storeys below the street, the lowest being a parking level. The alley side of the building will also include some public parking. Commercial space is planned for the Vernon Street level.
READ MORE: Nelson seniors housing project to start construction in the spring