Several dignitaries were in Cloverdale Sept. 5 at a sod-turning ceremony for a new long-term care facility.
Health Minister Adrian Dix, Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon, Mayor Brenda Locke, PICS president Satbir Cheema, and many others were on hand to celebrate the ground-breaking for Guru Nanak Diversity Village.
"This new long-term care home represents more than just bricks and mortar, it embodies our deep commitment to honouring and nurturing our elders,” said Satbir Cheema, president and CEO of Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS). For many, this will be a place where they can find solace, companionship, and a true sense of belonging.”
Satbir Cheema said Guru Nanak Diversity Village will incorporate “South Asian cultural values, traditions, and beliefs” into its day-to-day operations.
“The facility will employ diverse staff to communicate with our residents in their mother tongue,” Satbir Cheema told the assembled crowd. “They will be able to practice their religion and celebrate their cultural events.”
The home will also provide both South Asian cuisine and western meals.
“The residents will be served food that they've eaten all their lives," Satbir Cheema added.
Surrey physician Dr. Gulzar Cheema told the Cloverdale Reporter that finally seeing shovels in the dirt made him both happy and relieved.
“It’s about time,” he said. “It took us a long time to get here, but we made it.”
Gulzar Cheema has been supporting the project since it was conceived 17 years ago in 2007. He has fundraised, donated, and helped out in many ways. He also has a personal connection to the project.
“My mother is in a nursing home and I understand the dynamics,” he said. “As a physician, I know how important it is to have good facilities for our seniors. I’m very happy we’ll have a culturally sensitive, respectful place for seniors of all backgrounds.”
There will be 125 beds in the three-storey facility once it opens in 2026.
“This is really exciting for the community because this has been a community project,” Dix told the Cloverdale Reporter. “There have been a lot of big and small fundraisers for the PICS share of the funding—but most of all, what it will mean for the community in the future.”
He said when the project is completed and the Guru Nanak Diversity Village opens, people will wonder why it wasn’t built 10 years ago. “They won’t even imagine a time before it.”
PICS is partnering with the Ministry of Health, Fraser Health, and B.C. Housing to pay for the facility with PICS kicking in $5 million and the government kicking in $118 million. Money from the Province will be repaid through “low-cost construction financing” and PICS will own and operate the building.
Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing, said the facility will include “high-quality, culturally appropriate care” for the elderly in the South Asian community.
“This project will support our elders to age gracefully in their home communities, making these life transitions easier for everyone,” he said.
The PICS long-term care facility will be somewhat unique in that it will be designed in a neighbourhood-style layout, which will see between nine and 24 people each in single-bed room with a bathroom. Each neighbourhood will feature the spaces found in a typical home: living room, dining room, kitchen, and outdoor recreational areas.
The village will also be able to accommodate those with dementia in “comfortable” spaces that will be welcoming to family and friends.
Guru Nanak Diversity Village is being built in Cloverdale at 6471 175A Street. In 2022, 175A was given the honorary street name Guru Nanak Village Way.
For more info, visit: pics.bc.ca.
