Homecoming in Murrayville

Bev Kenward and Donna Lynch first met in the elevator at Aspire, but their bond really formed last autumn, when they chatted during a potluck dinner in the building’s amenity room.

There was much to say.

“We basically went through the same thing with our husbands’ [illnesses],” says Donna, 78, “-and we both lost our husbands around the same time.”

They’re both active; they walk everywhere they can and play golf.

“-and Donna loves my dog,” Bev laughs, referring to her English Springer Spaniel, Cooper.
”-and Bev likes my sister more than she likes me,” Donna interjects.

Before she moved to Aspire in September 2023, Donna lived in a Surrey condo backing onto a golf course, a nice spot until the owner decided to return from Europe and move into the suite. It wasn’t easy to move out of a home she’d loved for so long. “I wanted to be able to move someplace where I had control of how long I stayed there and when I was going to move,” she says.

Bev lived at Fraser Highway and 220th, but when the noise and traffic became too much, she knew she needed to find a quiet haven. “I looked at Aspire and I thought, ‘oh my God, this is to die for,’” recalls Bev, who lived in Vernon for decades before moving to Langley. She moved into Aspire in September 2023.

The Aspire rental apartment building, at 5068 221A Street, began as an ambitious project to transform a vacant lot across from the hospital campus into a vibrant community.

Soon after it first opened its doors in summer 2023, it evolved into a community of friends and neighbours who organize carpools, hold pot lucks and gather to watch hockey games.

When the Canucks were hot, residents got together for appetizers and games; a coffee club meets every Wednesday, and neighbours contribute to a pot luck every month’s end.

For Langley Community Health & Hospital Foundation’s donors, partners and broader community, Aspire can be seen as a milestone reached. For its tenants, it’s about living in comfort, with a bonus: designed for adults aged 55 and older, it’s run as a non-profit entity and will expand revenues and build long-term financial stability for health care in Langley.

From Vision to Homecoming
The vision that built Aspire took shape after Langley Community Health & Hospital Foundation’s Board of Directors commissioned a highest and best use study to explore the potential of the empty lot that sat across from Langley Memorial Hospital and adjacent to the hospital’s parking lot.

The study concluded that building market rental units with some subsidized spaces would help the Foundation foster the growth of hospital and community health services.

By spring 2024, less than a year after its opening, more than 90 per cent of Aspire’s units were fully occupied. Aspire’s design incorporates accessible and adaptable units for seniors and people with mobility challenges with 30 per cent of the units priced below market rates. That inclusivity allows seniors to age in place, with consistent access to affordable housing.

The LCHHF board created a limited partnership consisting of six directors. That move was vital in its work to maintain a charitable status, manage risk and create a layer of separation between the Foundation and the development of Aspire.

With that safeguard in place, the work to build Aspire began from the ground up and its first residents moved in summer of 2023.

The project underscores the Foundation’s role as an advocate for donor interests by integrating community-focused elements into its design. For instance, the unique shape of the building as viewed from the back resembles an L, allowing a small shaded garden to occupy space behind the building.

“This intentional design shows respect to the neighbours to the south,” says Michael Leggatt, former Chair of the LCHHF Board of Directors, who was instrumental as a member in the limited partnership. “That’s important to our donors. We ultimately delivered on a desire to respect the environment, and to support the needs of the community as it grows.”

“It Makes Them Feel Safer”
The community is growing around - and within - Aspire, in ways that have even surprised Allison Gaskell, Aspire’s building manager from NAI, Goddard and Smith.

Many of the residents are united by their shared life milestones. They may have downsized from a large family home, lost a spouse or just can’t resist the appeal of living close to the hospital, says Allison.

Many have been homeowners for a very, very long time, so moving into a brand new apartment building can be a daunting thing. At the same time, it’s the original concept behind Aspire that drew tenants to the building.

“They know that it is a non-profit building and when all is said and done, any profit left over from this project goes directly back into the hospital and the community. They tell me they really love that. They feel that the owners of the building had them in mind when they designed it, and it’s not going into a big developer’s pocket,” she says. “And because the hospital is so close, they tell me it makes them feel a lot safer.”