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Amica Mature Lifestyles celebrates grand opening in style with event in Brampton

May 17, 2018   ·   0 Comments

Written By JASEN OBERMEYER

Amica Mature Lifestyles celebrated their grand opening of their retirement residence in Brampton, the first retirement community in Brampton offering a premium level of memory care and in-house expertise.

The building, located at 223 Main Street South in Brampton, celebrated its grand opening last Thursday (May 10) and saw hundreds of staff, visitors, and residents take a tour of the facility, enjoying music and food along the way. The retirement building offers all three levels of care under one roof: independent living, assisted living, and memory care. It contains 159 suites, and took two years to build.

“As the aging population in Canada continues to grow rapidly, boomers, caregivers and seniors are looking for living options that meet their needs,” says Bob Kallonen, President of Amica Mature Lifestyles. “With insight into the challenges seniors face, Amica at Brampton offers residents with personalized experiences, whether it’s providing expert memory care services, life enrichment programs, health and wellness initiatives or first-in-class culinary programs.”

Amica was founded in 1993, and has locations in 27 communities across Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. According to its website, their missions it to “empower seniors to flourish by supporting mind, body and spirit through an engaged and passionate team in a place called home.”

The residence offers a number of modern amenities and services including: a public space where all residents to converge; a general living room for families; a library with up-to-date books; a theatre where seniors can watch popular movies and home videos, private dinning areas when families come by; a pool with UV technology so there are few chemicals; a spa, a spacious kitchen, and an exercise and fitness centre, which includes group or individual lessons, along with yoga and tai chi.

“All of us have been looking at the property, and we saw the drawings beforehand, and it looked beautiful,” commented Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey, who presented a certificate to Amica staff. “Actually, I think the place has exceeded the drawings.”

Other features include modern interiors and fresh culinary offerings, as well as activity kits and personalized boxes to help with memory care, and a 24-hour concierge.

Margaret Sweatman, General Manger of Amica at Brampton, welcomed and thanked all for coming to commemorate this special grand opening, introducing visitors and residents to the buildings staff. “We have all at one time or another, been touched by the ritualizing stories of our seniors, whether they’re family members, relatives, or friends.”

“The first time someone doesn’t go home, but they actually stay here, and their heads on a pillow and they’re home, the building morphs from being a really nice piece of real estate to being something that starts to take on a character of its own,” Mr. Kallonen said to the Citizen.

He commented on how he finds it interesting how residents comment on the quality and space of their rooms, including coming across some who said they have never had access to a kitchen like they do now. “What I love about it is the fact that each one we do there’s a new iteration, there’s a new kind of improvement.”

Mr. Kallonen added that he is glad Amica comes across like a home, and said with every grand opening, “no matter how often we do this, there’s something about it each time.”

“It’s been clearly a labour of love,” said Mayor Jeffrey to those in attendance.

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