Declined Lost growth

125-bed seniors care home, 431 College Road

The Care Group proposed a 125-bed seniors care home on the empty Qualicum College lot. Town planners recommended moving it forward. On October 22, 2025, Council refused it at the first step, 3–2.

Town tax lost (our estimate)
$119K–$178K a year
Not built
125 care beds
Where it stands
Refused Oct 2025. Private proposal for assisted living, memory care and long-term care, with 80–100 staff. Town planners recommended moving it forward; Council refused it at the first step, 3⁠–⁠2.

What it is

The Care Group, a family company that runs The Gardens in Qualicum Beach, applied in 2025 to build a care home at 431 College Road, on the site of the old Qualicum College. It would have held assisted living, memory care and long-term care. The Care Group said it would employ 80 to 100 people.

The first plan had 141 beds. After neighbours and at least one councillor raised its size at a July 2025 committee meeting, the builder cut a storey and brought it down to 125 beds. The revised building was 12.32 m tall: three storeys on College Road and four on the slope side, with 58 parking spaces.

The lot needed a rezoning and a change to the Official Community Plan, from multi-family residential to institutional. The college building, later the College Inn, was torn down in 2021. The lot has been empty since, apart from a garage.

The architect wrote that the smaller plan “reduces the potential for government supported seniors accommodation,” because a smaller building would rely more on residents paying privately.

What happened

  1. May 14, 2025The Care Group applied to change the Official Community Plan and rezone the lot.
  2. July 23, 2025Committee of the Whole looked at the first plan, with 141 beds. No motions were made.
  3. September 5, 2025The builder submitted the revised plan, one storey lower and with 125 beds.
  4. October 22, 2025Town planning staff recommended first reading and sending the plan to the Advisory Planning Commission, with a public hearing to follow. Instead, Council refused the rezoning, the plan change and the permit (Resolution 25-246, carried 3–2). Mayor Westbroek and Councillors Skipsey and Vander Valk voted to refuse. Councillors Harrison and Young voted against refusing. The plan never reached the commission or a public hearing.
  5. October 22, 2025Later that day, Council set a 15 m height limit on Town-owned Eaglecrest land zoned for seniors’ care or housing, which the Town plans to sell to help pay for the golf course (Resolution 25-253, carried 4–1, Councillor Harrison opposed). Staff’s draft had been 16 m.
  6. February 11, 2026Council received a petition from Oceanside Caregivers asking for more nursing home beds in Qualicum Beach.
  7. September 19, 2026The Town’s development tracker shows all three applications for the lot as refused, with nothing new filed.

Why it matters

  • Town property tax: about $119,000 to $178,000 a year, our estimate. That is the Town’s 2026 rate ($2.7401 per $1,000) on a building assessed at about what it would cost to build.
  • Construction cost: about $43 million to $65 million, our estimate. That is the 10,405 m² floor area on the Town’s tracker at 2025 Vancouver building costs for assisted living and care homes (Altus Group). It covers the building only, not land, site work or fees.
  • Construction jobs: about 170 to 260 jobs on site for a year, or about 315 to 475 across B.C. counting suppliers and workers’ spending. This is our estimate, using Statistics Canada’s job figures for building construction in B.C.
  • Wages: about $4.4 million to $5.5 million a year for 80 to 100 staff, our estimate. That assumes each was paid the Vancouver Island and Coast median wage for a health care aide ($28 an hour) full time. Nurses earn more and part-time staff less.
  • In February 2026, B.C. paused seven public long-term care homes, including Campbell River’s, the nearest to Qualicum Beach. The Health Minister said building them at $1.8 million a bed “simply isn’t sustainable.” At that cost, 125 public beds would cost about $225 million.
  • The Oceanside Caregivers petition had more than 2,250 signatures. Families reported waits of six months to two years for a nursing home bed.
  • Staff wrote that a seniors care home was “compatible with the historic commercial and institutional nature of the property as a school and hotel.”
  • A neighbourhood petition asked Council to reject the plan as out of scale with nearby homes, and over traffic, parking and disruption. The builder’s traffic consultant estimated about 3 cars an hour from residents and staff on College Road. The Official Community Plan says the Town will consider health care facilities in the Village Neighbourhood, which this lot is outside. It also says the Town generally supports health care facilities in Qualicum Beach.

Sources

Last checked October 5, 2026. Report a mistake.