Luxury Home For Sale In Alberta Described As “Gold Standard” For Accessibility | The Canadian News

A unique home for sale in St. Albert, Alta., Has caught the attention of people in the disabled community.

the luxury bungalow it was renewed a few years ago for a man with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). As his mobility deteriorated, the business owner spared no expense to make his home as accessible as possible.

The home includes a wheelchair lift in the garage, an elevator, a rail for a bedroom lift, a dumbwaiter in the kitchen, and an automatic dog gate.

Disability attorney and consultant Brad Bartko recently visited the home to help the real estate agent understand all of his assets. He says that when he came in, he cried.

“(The house) removes (obstacles) and you can be yourself,” Bartko told Global News.

“You can finally feel human … you can let your abilities shine through your disabilities.”

Bartko has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair full time. Describes the home as the “gold standard” for accessibility.

Among her favorite features is a wheelchair-accessible shower in the master bathroom, complete with a full-length hair dryer.

She also loves the wheelchair-friendly grassed backyard, which is accessible through the outside / swing-out basement.

“I can be myself and I can do things for myself. I don’t need to ask for help, ”said Bartko.

“I have been in a wheelchair for 28 years. This (house) is the first of its kind that I have seen and … that must change. “

Kevin Benson, president of Heredity Homes, agrees. His company renovated the home of his friend, Adam Rombough, before he died in 2018.

“(Rombough) could get on with his life, kind of like a normal life, in the end,” Benson said.

Benson says the experience taught him a lot about barrier-free design. Consider that some features should be standard in provincial building codes.

“Making a corridor a little wider or making the doors a little wider is not a huge expense at all.”

Now it recommends accessible features to customers and says that of the last 10 houses the company has built, eight had elevators. He calls them “forever homes” where people can grow old instead.

“You can live there a lot longer and stay there and get home care,” Benson said.

The St. Albert home is priced at nearly $ 700,000, out of reach for many.

According to Statistics Canada, 22 percent of Canadians over the age of 15 have disabilities. Of these, people with the most severe disabilities (28 percent) are more likely to live in poverty.

A recent report from the Alberta group Radical inclusion calls on provincial and municipal governments to consult people with disabilities regarding accessible and affordable housing. The group also wants better grant programs for renovations.

Bartko and his wife live in a condo. He hopes the St. Albert property can inspire more homebuilders to consider affordability.

“They are small things for many people, but big for us.”