The Westhill by Sifton
A very warm welcome to the WRX Property Group website and blog! Over the past couple weeks, we’ve covered several retirement communities throughout Kitchener-Waterloo (and in the case of the Morningside Retirement Community, just outside of Kitchener-Waterloo).
Today, we’ll be looking at one of western Waterloo’s finest retirement communities: the Westhill by Sifton. Sifton is a longstanding Canadian property development company, which started along the path of real-estate innovation back in 1923 with Harry Sifton at the helm.
Sifton Properties Limited has eight retirement living properties throughout southern Ontario (with two in Waterloo), and the Westhill is one of its best: like each of Sifton’s Retirement Living properties, it’s focused on “the highest quality wellness services, dining experiences and engaging social events and activities” (Sifton).
Let’s take a look!
Location
The Westhill is located in southwest Waterloo, on 25 Westhill Drive. It’s near the bustling intersection of Erb Street West and Erbsville Road/Ira Needles Boulevard, but its immediate surroundings are quiet and calm.
Westhill Drive itself is a beautifully landscaped cul de sac with pleasant green views to the east, and a few shopping establishments and a golf course visible to the west.
There’s a fairly large shopping plaza on the Erb/Erbsville intersection, with numerous banks, restaurants (including a Boston Pizza and a Starbucks), shops, a grocery store (Dutchies Fresh Market), Canadian Tire, Shoppers Drug Mart, PetSmart, and more (including a Costco Wholesale a few minutes west along Erb Street).
It’s great for residents to have shopping so close, and it doesn’t stop there: Westhill Meadows Golf Course is just across the street, as well as a large expanse of green areas with trails. Perhaps the most exciting opportunity lies a short ways to the south: the Boardwalk at Ira Needles Boulevard.
This massive development is quite new, and it has just about everything.
There are dozens of shops and restaurants, large stores like a Walmart Supercentre (with a full grocery section) and a Lowe’s Home Improvement, and a Landmark Cinemas Theatre with all the latest movies and occasional screenings of classic films from yesteryear.
One of the best parts of the Boardwalk is its top-of-the-line Medical Centre, with excellent facilities and highly-regarded medical practitioners (find out more here).
In part because of its proximity to the popular Boardwalk area, Westhill also has access to great public transit, including GRT’s speedy iXpress bus service.
Accommodations
The Westhill has two primary options for residents: residences and apartments.
Residences are designed for residents looking for additional care and support, and apartments are designed for residents looking for more independence and less support. Let’s start with the four primary layouts of their Residences (the residential suites).
The Braemar is a 387 square foot studio suite, with a living area/bedroom, storage, bathroom, and kitchenette (view it here).
The Glengarry is a 523 square foot, 1 bedroom layout, with a separate bedroom and a living room, as well as a washroom, kitchenette, closet, large storage room, and a balcony with room for outdoor chairs and a table (view it here).
The Drummond (1 bedroom + den with 616 square feet of space) takes all the elements of the Glengarry and adds a den, which is just slightly smaller than the living room (view it here).
Finally, the Aberdeen is the largest at 800 square feet, and it’s a 2 bedroom suite. It includes two bedrooms (one with a normal closet, and a larger master bedroom with a walk-in closet and an en suite bathroom), two bathrooms in total, a kitchenette, a living room, a storage room, and a porch (view it here).
Westhill’s independent living options are known as the Seven Westhill Apartments. These apartments come in three primary layouts. The Moorland is a 900 square foot, 1 bedroom apartment; it consists of a spacious bedroom with walk-in closet, a full bathroom, a living area and dinette, a full kitchen, a balcony, three additional closets (including one by the entrance), and a laundry room with washer and dryer (view it here).
The Clifton is 1060 square feet, and it’s a 1 bedroom + den apartment; it includes everything that’s in the Moorland and adds a reasonably-sized den and a powder room with a toilet and a sink/counter (view it here).
Finally, the Skylark is the largest apartment available at Seven Westhill Apartments. It’s a 2 bedroom apartment with 1240 square feet of space; it consists of a master bedroom with walk-in closet and a full en suite bathroom with shower/bath, a smaller bedroom with a normal closet, a balcony, a large living area and dinette, a full kitchen with an island, a second full bathroom, and a laundry room with washer and dryer.
Amenities
Both the Residences and the Apartments provide certain services to all residents. Three meals per day and a weekly housekeeping visit are included with suites and apartments.
Assisted Living services in the Residences include daily tidying and medication administration, and apartment residents can add these if they’d like.
There are many other enhanced care options available for residents, including laundry, personal hygiene and grooming, and more. Residents with specific medical needs will also be able to get all the help they need through Westhill.
Westhill also hosts a wide range of events and provides various wellness-related services for residents: for example, there’s an on-site physiotherapy practitioner, monthly weight and blood pressure monitoring, fall prevention classes, as well as a spa, hair salon, aesthetician, and foot care.
Westhill also ensures residents have opportunities for enjoyment and relaxation. Residents can host special occasions in private dining areas with up to 12 guests, with great meals and full service.
Pickwick’s Pub has all the traditional pub fare that you know and love, as well as plenty of space and tables for games and chats.
Finally, the Westhill Café is a great place for a snack and a drink, some reading time, conversations with friends and fellow residents, and using the Internet.
Finally, Westhill hosts events throughout the year, including educational seminars, musical performances, excursions to various sites and shops in Kitchener-Waterloo, and much more (as an example, check out the amazing range of activities in January of 2018 here).
Conclusion
The Westhill by Sifton has gorgeous facilities, caring and professional staff, specially designed care services that cater to you, and an incredible location. You can contact Westhill via the contact section on the right side of this page, or by calling them at (519) 725-0525.
If you’ve got any real-estate questions, whether in Kitchener-Waterloo or the areas beyond, please feel free to contact WRX Property Group here!
Written by Will Kummer