The Heritage Centre is an ill-defined name for the expansive and all-encompassing enterprise that it’s become.
It proudly stands on nearly ten acres of land between Heritage Trail and Second Avenue South.
Its amenities include a province-renowned event centre, timber-frame atrium, medical clinic, dental centre, hair salon, daycare, seniors housing at all levels, and upscale licensed restaurant. The newest addition will be the retirement life lease wing.
What makes this campus especially unique is that all of these amenities are connected, making it possible to get to each facility without ever leaving the building. At the heart of the campus lies the Niverville Community Garden, where old and young alike apply their green thumbs under the canopy of a blue Manitoba sky.
It sounds idyllic, and perhaps it is. Currently, it seems to be the only facility of its kind in Canada.
Though the end result of this undertaking is self-evident, many don’t know the means by which it came to be. The history of the campus, from inception to present completion, reveals a complex mishmash of ownership, management, and ideas. It would be fair to say that the Heritage Centre has evolved in ways that even the early trail-blazers never imagined.
In the 1990s, the chicken plant and hatchery on the site closed. Henry Suderman, a developer and community visionary, purchased the plant. He believed that our community was in need of a common place to come together. Thus the Heritage Club banquet hall was born. The balance of the building and grounds were intended for recreation.
In the late 90s, Gordon Daman, then a town councillor, discovered a unique facility in Edina, Minnesota while vacationing with his family. The location included a hotel, seniors assisted living, a banquet hall, and recreation areas. Daman, a long-time proponent of seniors housing, returned to Edina with Suderman, then-mayor Clarence Braun, and a collection of councillors and community members to scope out the possibilities for the Heritage Club.
They returned, buoyed by the dream of creating a community-owned “gathering place” where seniors could live with medical assistance and the rest of us could gather for recreation and community events, all under one roof.
Council hired a consultant to poll a large cross-section of the community for feedback on which aspects were important. Those polled included the Niverville Chamber of Commerce, churches, ice sports, schools, seniors, and young families. Responses indicated a strong desire for an “ageing in place” centre to keep our seniors—parents and grandparents—at home in the community they loved. Other items that rose to the top of the list were an indoor swimming pool and a regulation-size gymnasium.
Residents were introduced to an elaborately drawn-up plan and donations poured in. It was a proposal the community could sink its teeth into, and it would belong to all of us. The town purchased the Heritage Club in 2000 with donated funds. An agreement was made with Suderman to include a racquetball court.
Since fundraising would be done in stages, the facility needed to be built in phases. In order to expedite construction of phase one of the seniors facilities, council sought financing. A challenge to the plan was found in the provincially legislated borrowing limits for town councils.
At about this same time, it was discovered that Niverville would require a new lagoon and a potentially costly decom-missioning of the old one. Financing was spread too thin.
Upon professional advice, Niverville Heritage Holdings Inc. (NHHI) was formed. This not-for-profit organization became the bearer of the Heritage Centre assets, and the formality by which the town could proceed. Under law, such an entity could obtain financing outside of council’s restrictions.
The NHHI board consisted of three members from each of the Chamber of Commerce, the Niverville Recreation Commission, and the Niverville Health and Community Foundation. Their positions filled the minimum shareholder seats as required by provincial law. Their mandate was to merely hold and make payments on a mortgage.
Furthering the legal safety net meant forming another not-for-profit entity called Niverville Heritage Centre Management Company (NHCMC), a board consisting of town council and community members whose purpose was to manage Heritage Centre funds and make decisions on its behalf.
Checks and balances were put in place to ensure that the Heritage Centre would remain community-owned. The board members of both organizations were volunteers, receiving no pay or kickback. All decisions made by both had to be unanimously agreed upon.
The assisted living, supportive housing, and atrium were completed in 2007. The assisted living complex was aptly named the Niverville Credit Union Manor, in response to the special interest rates offered by the financial institution. Within two years, they were followed by a medical clinic (run by Drs. Chris and Mairi Burnett), community gardens, and a daycare facility.
During these years, council performed its due diligence in researching the feasibility and costs of the recreational aspects of the Heritage Centre. Since there was already talk of Hanover awarding a new school to Niverville, council determined that a multimillion-dollar gymnasium should be the responsibility of the provincial government and the school division.
Extensive research was also done on an indoor pool and racquetball courts, questioning communities that had built them. The findings were conclusive. Neither of these ventures could be self-sustaining revenue generators and would require significant tax dollars to run. Given council’s mandate to avoid increased taxation for Heritage Centre facilities, the recreation aspects of the centre were tabled. Suderman was compensated, as per his request should council default on his initiatives.
In 2009, space was provided for a licensed daycare facility. Residents and council together believed that adding a child dynamic would enhance life for seniors, many of whom feel cut-off from the outside world. NHHI financed a portion of building the daycare, which were reimbursed in full as the daycare grew.
Still missing from the ageing-in-place model was a personal care home (PCH). This goal faced low odds with limited provincial funding and strict rulings regarding geographical placement.
A stroke of fortune came in 2011 when the privately owned St. Adolphe PCH was forced to close. An agreement was struck with Manitoba Health, allowing NHHI to purchase the antiquated PCH and move its residents to a brand-new facility in Niverville, thus virtually completing the amenities-for-seniors circle. The life lease will bridge the final gap.
A third not-for-profit entity was created, Niverville Heritage PCH Inc., allowing Manitoba Health to link with NHHI and serve as the required governmental overseers of the facility.
Questions have surfaced over the years regarding methods, modes of operation, and the intentions of council and the organizations they operate under.
“I have always had an appreciation for the seniors facilities put together by NHHI,” says Clarence Braun, now a local realtor. “This is something my wife and I have supported. I do think certain misunderstandings occurred which may have been related to the lack of consultation with the community.”
Though lack of transparency and conflict of interest has been much speculated on, Daman, who has held many positions during the process as councillor, mayor, and NHHI board member, says they’ve done their utmost to ensure openness and to keep the community’s best interests at heart.
“I am the first to admit we have made mistakes along the way,” says Daman. “However, we have tried to learn from them and respond in a way that allows us to deliver our services better and more sensitively.”
Daman openly admits that there was no schooling or guidelines to prepare council regarding ways to create a community-owned facility such as we have, outside of the school of hard knocks. It was a long, winding, frustrating road to an end that the town can be very proud of.
