2 days Ago By Hiren Mansukhani
One of Calgary’s largest seniors’ housing organizations, previously responsible for 18 buildings with more than 1,700 tenants, relinquished much of its operations this week on the orders of the Alberta government. The Trinity Place Foundation of Alberta, a provider of subsidized housing for seniors and some of the city’s “hardest-to-house” since 1974, no longer manages 16 properties that have been turned over to three non-profit operators as of Monday. The unusual intervention was announced in December after the province said it uncovered numerous concerns with the organization’s management practices.
Some of those issues are outlined in an operational review completed in February 2024, although the government has offered few specifics behind its decision. “Multiple ministers had heard concerns in regard to the operations that were taking place with Trinity,” Seniors, Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon said at an unrelated event last month. “As a result, multiple internal processes were triggered by both myself and different predecessors that resulted in, I think, fairly accurate information, taking it up to the ministry with strong recommendations on how to proceed.
” The province declined requests for interviews or more information about the decision to rescind Trinity’s management status. The operational review, obtained by Postmedia through a Freedom of Information and Privacy Act request, lists numerous issues uncovered by government inspectors. Those include findings of lax accounting practices, health and safety shortfalls, frequent tenant complaints and high staff turnover.
What’s not explained is what occurred between February 2024 — when Trinity Place leadership pledged to address the detailed shortcomings — and December when the province stepped in. “I’m not going to spend a lot of time going into the great detail of what we found in these circumstances; I think it’s not beneficial to Trinity or the future of the organization,” Nixon said last month. Management of 16 Trinity properties was taken over by Silvera for Seniors, Calgary Heritage Housing and Onward Homes Society effective Monday.
Trinity will continue to manage two supportive housing facilities — Templemont Gardens and Peter Coyle Place — for people with a history of health and substance-use disorders, both of which are operated in partnership with AHS. The non-profit’s housing portfolio has been home to a diverse range of residents, from those previously experiencing homelessness to people looking for an inexpensive place to retire. Most of its buildings are designed for independent living, where residents can live on their own with minimal assistance.
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