Lacombe Action Group's plans are moving forward in the development of a new care home at the old Ponoka hospital site.

The 5,000 square foot one-storey building will house eight individuals with development disabilities, both adults and children, while creating about 50 jobs.

Action Group Executive Director Deb Martin, who is spearheading the project, said it wasn’t easy finding a location and is grateful for the Town of Ponoka.

“There’s a definite need for this type of home. We had looked at providing this type of support in Red Deer, but were unable to find land. We knew of the old hospital site and its zoning so we looked at Ponoka and they opened their arms to us and readily accepted our project and were very supportive.”

The development group still needs to apply for a building permit before they can start construction, but Martin said they’ve got a timeline in place.

“We’ve had the funding in place for quite some time. We received capital funding about three years ago so we’ve been working on the project for about three years and we hope to have it completed by this time next year.”

The hope is to have their building permit in the next couple of weeks and start construction sometime next month.

Provincial government funding for the project is being provided by Persons with Developmental Disabilities, which is part of Alberta Human Services.