The building of Normandy Manor, an assisted living residence directed at seniors, has been put on hold.

The proponent, Borud Enterprises, has asked to be withdrawn from the project, Doug Caldwell, a spokesperson for the Yukon Housing Corp., said this week.

'The proponent is not able to proceed with the project at this time,' he said.

Normandy Manor was one of two projects to receive funding from the Canada-Yukon Affordable Housing Agreement in April.

The $625,000 given to the project was meant to see the construction of 25 units for assisted care living for seniors in the old steam plant on Range Road.

The renovations of the power plant were expected to start in June with a completion date set for January 2006.

The indefinite postponement of Normandy Manor is the second in a series of cancellations of housing for seniors.

In July, the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion had to cancel a deal with the River View Hotel that would have seen the building of 50 units directed at seniors. Legion officials said they were unable to live up to the financial stipulations of their conditional agreement.

However, Stan Borud of Borud Enterprises said withdrawing from this project had nothing to do with financing.

There are going to be more seniors' housing units on the market than will be needed over the next few years, he said.

'Its feasibility deteriorates when more and more of those units come onto the market and with the plans that are hovering around right now,' he said in an interview. 'There was a shortage and now, all of a sudden, it seems like there is saturation or over-saturation.'

With the Legion still exploring possibilities that may enable it to build in the future, and the affordable housing aspect of the athletes' village at the end of the 2007 Canada Winter Games, Borud said it doesn't make sense to build at this time.

He added that though Borud Enterprises would be willing to explore the possibility of pursuing the project again later, he doesn't think there will be enough of a change in the market to create a demand.

'For the people in the market for that, there was going to be more units available than there was demand for,' he said.

The building of Normandy Manor and Falcon Ridge Chalet Village, the other housing project to receive part of the $1.4 million in federal and territorial money, received a great deal of criticism about whether they were truly affordable housing directed at seniors.

Steve Cardiff, the MLA for Mt. Lorne and the housing critic for the NDP, said he is not surprised there is not enough demand for the units, which he does not believe to be affordable for seniors.

Cardiff previously told the Star that the housing projects seemed to be directed at people in their 40s or 50s who were looking to relocate to a smaller home.

'I don't think it's targeted at the needs of existing seniors,' he said. 'The people who are most in need of affordable housing are not going to be able to afford the purchase price of these units.'

Normandy Manor was slated to have a monthly rental cost ranging from $1,000 to $1,700, including housekeeping and meals.

The 44 homes to be built at Falcon Ridge will be available for ownership with starting prices at approximately $148,500. Most are expected to go for between $160,000 and $170,000 each.

'Lower-income seniors would have never been in the position that they could have afforded it,' said Ross Findlater, co-chair of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition.

It's unfortunate that there will now be even less housing available to seniors, he added.

But, Borud said there should be 'adequate service' coming onto the market very soon.

Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell, a local realtor, said the current soaring real estate market is putting pressure on lower and fixed income earners like seniors.

'People's incomes don't go up at the same rate as housing goes up,' he said.

The Yukon might also be experiencing a situation where the current real estate market doesn't allow for units to be built within the definition of affordable, he said. If that's the case, Mitchell said, the government needs to look at options for more creative programs.

'Seniors' needs are not being met. What can the government do differently to ensure those needs are met?' he asked.

Findlater said a good starting point would be for the government to talk to seniors and other low-income earners to develop a better understanding of what their reality is and how they define affordable.

'They need to actually ask the people they are targeting,' he said.

Findlater hopes that the stalling of this project may mean the federal and territorial government rethink what affordable actually means.

Cardiff agreed.

'This is Yukon Housing's and the Yukon Party's opportunity to get it right for seniors.'

There may be an opportunity for the Yukon Housing Corp. to reallocate the money, said Caldwell. However, the corporation's board won't be sitting again until September and will only discuss the matter at that time.

Cardiff said he hopes the money from the affordable housing agreement is reallocated to other projects that better reflect what the seniors want.

A survey sent out by the Yukon Council on Aging showed that most of the 138 respondents wanted to live in the downtown area, said Cardiff.

'People want to live and stay close to their family and friends,' said Mitchell.

The Legion and the Grey Mountain Housing Society had also submitted proposals to try to secure money from the affordable housing agreement.

Cardiff said he hopes some of the previously received proposals are re-evaluated by Yukon Housing.

There is still $5.5 million in federal funding available for affordable housing projects.