McMullen Manor Rebuild Plan Surfaces at SF Council
Almost five years after Verona's McMullen Manor burnt down on January 7, 2021, leaving its 28 tenants to find new housing, a preliminary plan for a rebuild was presented to South Frontenac Township Council, at a meeting last week (November 4).
Mary Lynne Cousins Brame, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation, which operated McMullen Manor, appeared before Council.
In a PowerPoint presentation that she brought with her, Cousins Brame outlined why it has taken five years to come forward with a plan, and what is being envisioned for the site.
McMullen Manor was built in 1980, by Portland Township, as subsidised housing for seniors. Mary Lynne Cousins Brame was familiar with McMullen Manor from the start, as she pointed out to Council that her father was the reeve of the former township (which became part of South Frontenac with municipal amalgamation in 1998).
As part of provincial restructuring, McMullen Manor became a part of the stock of subsidised housing for adults, in the late 1990s and has been managed by Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation (KFHC) ever since the agency was established in 2001.
Cousins Brame talked about the night of the McMullen Manor Fire, which she described as her most difficult day since she began working at KFHC in 2019, and about the community effort to care for those who lost their homes, and belongings, in the middle of a winter night, during a pandemic shut down.
She mentioned both the Verona Free Methodist Church, where the victims all gathered that night, as well as the Verona Community Association, and the community at large, for helping get everyone settled that night, and in the ensuing weeks.
As to the delays that followed, she said that the property was insured for replacement value and also had a $25 million blanket policy. The KFHC took out a building permit with South Frontenac in 2022, but when the project went to tender, the pricing came back at a much higher price than originally anticipated, as construction costs had skyrocketed in the wake of the COVID pandemic.
“The insurance company refused to pay out the blanket policy, and the project was frozen at that time,” said Cousins Brame.
KFHC took the insurance company to court and the project remained in limbo for three years.
Finally in late August of this year, KFHC received a payout on their policy.
While the legal process continues, the Board of KFHC approved the reconstruction of McMullen Manor, in September. KFHC will use some of its own equity, as well as financing from a mortgage loan, to fund the project. Construction is slated for the fall of 2026, with a move-in date of September 2027.
The current plan is for a building of the same size and capacity as the original.
KFHC has been approached by the Service Manager from the City of Kingston about adding an extra component to the project, and is exploring the possibility of including a third floor to the project, as well as an elevator, to add 16 extra units.
These units would not be part of the subsidised housing stock managed by KFHC, but would be rented out as affordable housing units (80% of market value) and perhaps with a few at full market rates.
Cousins Brame said that while this possibility is being explored, the building project is not on hold, and an aggressive rebuild schedule is being implemented, to bring this project to a construction phase within the next 12 months.
In response to the presentation, members of council asked if local residents will have any precedence when it comes to accessing the units when they become available, and Cousins Brame said that by law, the same wait list is used for all KFHC units, “but in general, it is the rural clients who choose to be located in rural areas, and people in Kingston choose to remain there.”
As far as creating new affordable housing stock, if that aspect of the project proceeds, Mayor Vandewal said it left him a “little concerned about saturation in Verona, because as you know we are planning to do the same thing in Verona with the Verona Housing Project.
Further items from South Frontenac Council
Sydenham Water
The township received a report about the operations of the Sydenham Water Plant, and passed a motion renewing their contract with utilities Kingston, for the operation of the plant.
Election Plans
Council approved using the same internet-based voting system for the 2026 municipal election. The system is also available by phone, and residents will have access to support from township staff if so required.
