Times Advocate, 1991-09-25, Page 12Page 12 Tlmes-Advocate, September 25, 1991
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Grand Cove: An active
retirement lifestyle
Well groomed lawns and boulevards grace one cul-de-sac after another. Each modest home shares a similar,
conservative yet comfortable appearance. Just about every car in every driveway is a domestic model favoured
by the more mature generation. There is no mistaking it, this is a retirement community. But this is not just a re-
treat from a more hectic life, this is a whole new lifestyle.
Consider that you own a home in the Toronto area that is suddenly worth well over $300,000. You decide to
buy not only a summer home in Grand Cove, but a winter home in Florida. And you still have enough money left
over for a new Lincoln and a comfortable bank balance...
By Adrian Harte
GRAND BEND - Robert and Edith McGall first saw
Grand Cove Estates four years ago on a blustery April
day. Most of us who have visited Grand Bend on a
snowy April day would consider the village to be
somewhat bleak and deserted, but to the McGalls it
was perfect.
They soon sold their home in the Toronto area and
moved in to join what they describe as a completely
new lifestyle, but certainly not the subdued, sedentary
pace that most think of retirement communities.
"It's a very active lifestyle. There's something going
on in the clubhouse every night," explains Robert.
Not only are there regular card games, carpet bowl-
ing, a winter five -pin bowling league for those who
don't go south, and darts, but there is also a swimming
pool, a ceramics workshop, a wood workshop, garden
plots for those with green thumbs, and the list goes on.
A large number of Grand Cove residents, observes
Edith, are from the Montreal business community, or
are British emmigres. That, she says, gives them a
sense of a tightly -knit family.
"You have a very close relationship here," said
Edith, noting that virtually everyone came to Grand
Bend from afar and have few ties with their former
lives. In some ways, Grand Cove is a fresh start.
"If you drive through here and you wave at some-
body and they don't wave back, you know they're a
stranger," she said.
But neither Robert nor Edith see Grand Bend's attrac-
tion of the younger crowd in the summer months as a
problem or conflict with the Grand Cove lifestyle. In-
stead they see it as one of the park's greater assets -
they say there is not the same feeling of isolation they
found in other retirement communities.
"It's just a change of atmosphere...and our own
grandchildren just love it," said Robert, pointing out
that the hustle and bustle of Grand Bend makes it easy
to get the grandchildren to visit them.
But eventually the atmosphere and the crowds can be
tiring, even though Grand Cove is reasonably dis-
tanced from the hub of the activity.
"It works out quite well," said Robert. "But you're
glad to see October come."
Grand Bend, of course, is also well-placed for shop-
ping trips to Exeter or London.
As pointed out earlier, many, if not most, Grand
Cove residents are "snowbirds" who fly south to Flori-
da or Panama for the coldest months. _
."1 would say 50 percent of them -h _t own south
every winter," guesses Robert. "The biggest problem
right now is the insurance."
Because the Ontario Health System has announced it
will only pay up to $400 a day for out -of -province
health care, and the average U.S. bill costs about
$1,000 a day, the snowbirds are having to pay hefty in-
creases in additional health insurance. Robert says that
the cost of deluxe Blue Cross insurance has virtually
tripled to about $2,135 for six months coverage.
However, Robert concedes those costs won't likely
deter many of his neighbours from heading south this
month. While they may complain about the added ex-
pense, most are affluent enough to afford it.
"You're not in the lower income bracket to live here,"
he concedes, pointing out that one is hard pressed to
find a car in Grand Cove more than two years old.
Robert is also president of the Grand Cove Residents
Association, a group which oversees the'social activi-
ties of the community.
"1t is basically for the goodwill of the majority of the
people in the park," he explained, adding that while the
park owners provide the facilities, all equipment and
activities are funded either by the residents, heir fund-
raising efforts, or by government grants for seniors rec-
reation programs.
Grand Cove Estates even has its own television chan-
nel, providing up-to-date program listings as well as
community activity news. The association was able to
arrange for the park's own cable TV system through the
CRTC.
In short, Grand Cove is able to provide virtually
everything the McGalls need.
"We enjoy it. We enjoy every minute of it," said
Edith, whose sentiments were echoed by her husband
who said he appreciated the entirely new set of values
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Robert and Edith McGall have lived in Grand Cove Estates for three and a half years. They call
the lifestyle virtually "perfect".
A friendship quilt is in progress and is worked on every Monday. From left are Joan Dargent, Mad Baxter, Muriel Loney and
Edith Chisholm.
found away from the social scene, and, rat -race of the
city. • .,
"There's no one who asks you where you're from or
what you did before," he said. "They don't care. 'Do
you play golf?' - that's the first question they ask."
Grand Cove Estates is run by Rice Capital Invest-
ments Limited, a Brampton company which operates
two similar retirement parks elsewhere in the province.
Grand Cove began 17 years ago and has expanded to
the point where 357 homes are presently occupied.
There is capacity for a total of 417, but sales and ex-
pansion has slowed in recent months due to the de-
pressed housing market. A lot of urban retirees are de-
laying the sale of their homes until the housing market
returns to its former activity.
However, residents who do buy homes in the park,
Carpet bowling is another regular activity in the Grand Cove clubhouse. Residents have also
place dwell in regional seniors competition.
can expect to pay anywhere between $60,000. for an
older mobile -home style units, to well over $100,000
for a fully -optioned brand new home built on site.
As park manager Sharon VanHevel explains, most
residents are able to pay for their retirement homes out-
right, having sold their larger home in the city.
"They come in here and their house is free and
clean," VanHevel said.
The land on which the home sits, however, is rented
to the homeowner from the park company. Not only
does the rental fee provide services to the properties,
but it also helps the upkeep of the facilities like the
clubhouse and the pool. While residents cut their own
grass, the larger boulevards and park areas are main-
tained for them.
Also, the fact that the parent company rents the land
allows a certain degree of control over the properties,
and is able to oversee the general maintenance and uni-
form appearance of the homes, a point which many
residents appreciate.
While there is no legal restriction on the age of
Grand -Cove homeowners, 99.9 percent of them are re-
tired, said VanHevel. A handful have purchased their
retirement home early and are commuting to work.
"It's what we prefer to call it - an adult lifestyle com-
munity," said VanHevel.
"It's not only buying a house, they're buying a life-
style. That's what we're trying to market here," she
said. "It's the perfect life for a retired couple."
But that perfect lifestyle, for those who can afford it,
is not aimed at hours of isolation and boredom. Since
retired people have more free time, they ought to have
a larger variety of activities from which to choose - at
least that's the Grand Cove philosophy.
"A lot of them are busier than they ever imagined
they would be," said VanHevel.
Len Chadwick and Bert Steenhuls take advantage of a fuly equipped workshop. Many resk Tarry Thompson and Howard Coition* enjoy a game of pool on a rainy Friday aftemoon.
dents build cabinets, tables, and even cradles for grandchildren.
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