Public meeting for youth home project on Feb. 14

By Mickey Dumont Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Municipal Planning Commission for the Town of Claresholm will hold a public meeting starting at 9 a.m. in the town council chambers on Feb. 14 to hear about a proposed youth assisted living project.
Bluebay Behavioural Consulting Inc. (Bluebay) has purchased the former hospital/Livingstone Range School Division board building at 5202 – Fifth Street East and has applied to the town for a development permit to operate a youth assisted living facility.
“The Claresholm project – the ‘Blue Bay Healing Home’ – seeks to renovate the former hospital/school site for the purpose of operating a safe and supportive assisted living facility for disadvantaged youth (aged 12-17) in southern Alberta,” Adejare Popoola, Bluebay Consulting Inc. chief executive officer, said in an email interview early this week.
Popoola says Blue Bay is a registered organization that “seeks to provide emotional, mental and various psychological support to individuals from all walks of life.
“Blue Bay Healing Home’s competitive advantage is its unique combination of clinical and cultural competence, as well as its strong partnership with Blue Bay Behaviour Consultancy, its proximity to other agencies, and working relationships with many reservations in Southern Alberta, such as the Piikani Nation, the Tsuut’ina Nation, and the Siksika nation.”
“Blue Bay Healing Home offers uncommon specialized services that are not provided in any group home in the Alberta region, such as a mentorship program that offers supported employment coaching, life skill development and counselling. Blue Bay Healing Home aims to become a leading group home in southern Alberta that provides holistic and compassionate care to its clients and helps them heal and recover,” Popoola said.
“Blue Bay Healing Home is an emerging group home initiative committed to delivering superior and culturally attuned services to youth in Southern Alberta, including First Nation youth from nearby communities, with a focus on individuals grappling with trauma who need a safe environment through which to heal and recover.”
Town development professionals became involved with Blue Bay after the purchase from the school board was finalized.
“That building had been empty for quite a while after the school board moved,” explained Tara Vandervalk, town development services manager.
“I didn’t find out about it until probably last fall,” she said. “They (Bluebay) were wanting to submit applications and learn if they needed to re-zone the property and look at uses within our land-use bylaw.”
According to the Municipal Government Act, when a building has been vacant for more than six months, it becomes vacant under municipal designation guidelines.
“It requires what’s called a change in use application in order to be able to use the building again and have inspections and renovations and go through that permitting process,” explained Vandervalk.
Blue Bay submitted an application for change of use from vacant to assisted living, triggering an automatic public meeting and notification by the town to neighbours and possible affected parties should Blue Bay be granted a development permit.
“I did a fairly wide circulation, in this case, I think over 50 letters were sent out,” Vandervalk said. The results of the circulation will be presented at the public meeting.
As the development services manager, Vandervalk doesn’t have to circulate public notices for permitted use or development officer discretionary applications
Blue Bay’s application is a discretionary use application.
“Those are typically more intense and would all automatically go to the Municipal Planning Commission for approval or for review following a circulation,” Vandervalk said.
“Although the vision for a project of this nature has been in the planning stages for the better part of five years, we were waiting on finding the right facility – at the right time – to facilitate our vision of bringing a holistic service to disadvantaged youth in Alberta,” Popoola said. “Fortunately, we came across the former hospital/school site on the east end of Claresholm in the spring of 2024, and acquired it following a competitive request for proposal type bid process.”
Since the acquisition of the Claresholm property in July 2024, Blue Bay has undertaken a number of due diligence steps, including the completion of a structural assessment; developed design concepts for the interior of the building; and held walk-throughs with safety codes officers.
“The structure of the building is in good shape; however, we do need to replace the roof and to install a fire suppression and alarm system to conform to the current building code. In addition, an extensive renovation to the interior of the building will be required to make it more conducive to an assisted living facility,” he said.
Popoola added a number of steps are required before an assisted living facility in the Claresholm property becomes operational.
“As a first step, a change in use status needs to be approved by the Municipal Planning Commission. If that gets approved, development and building permits need to be obtained (mid-March 2025), which as part of this process will require detailed architectural design drawings, as well as a design for a fire alarm and suppression system. A contractor would then need to be selected (end of March 2025), with construction estimated to take somewhere between four to six months. Ideally, the facility is operational in September 2025.”
Blue Bay Healing Home would provide a comprehensive suite of services tailored to meet the diverse needs of its (youth between ages 12-17) clients, ensuring a holistic approach to healing and support.
“Through this diverse range of services, Blue Bay Healing Home is committed to empowering its clients, supporting their recovery, and promoting their well-being, all within a culturally sensitive and supportive environment,” Popoola said.
“We are excited about renovating what used to be a closed and boarded up former hospital site in the Town of Claresholm and transforming it into a functional, rehabilitative assisted living facility for youth in Southern Alberta.
“The youth that reside in the Blue Bay Healing Home will be supervised by staff and counselors that will be on site, in a supervisory capacity, 24/7.”