Barrhaven Legion Selling Condos to Fund New Branch

By Charlie Senack, Barrhaven Independent 

The Barrhaven Legion is one step closer to owning their own clubhouse. 

Branch 641 has been renting their current location at 3500 Fallowfield Road since they first opened their doors. But high rental costs which keep increasing have made them want to own their own building. 

A project of that size and magnitude takes not only time, but also money. To help raise those funds, the legion has purchased two condos in Barrhaven which have just started to be built. With 34 one and two bedroom units total, Halo Flats and Nuvo Condos have prices starting at $395,000. 

When they are sold, the legion will use those funds to build a new home for their branch. 

“The best thing for us is to be able to have our own clubhouse, and to be able to build it,” states Barrhaven Legion President Stephane Guy. “We were fortunate enough that a local construction company has offered us to purchase the two buildings which we can sell for profit. That profit will be suitable for us to build our clubhouse and have a mortgage which will be comparable to what our rent is today.” 

The condos should be move-in ready by late 2022 or early 2023. Once they are done, drawings for the new legion will be done, and then shovels can go in the ground. Guy estimates that it could take anywhere from three to five years. 

For more information on the condos, you are asked to contact the Nim Moussa Real Estate Team.

Poppy Campaign

The legion is also celebrating a successful poppy campaign. 

Every year, legions right across Canada rely on their annual poppy campaigns to raise much needed funds which go directly towards supporting local veterans. The money is spent on treating mental health issues such as PTSD and supplying members with emotional support dogs. 

Canada-Wide, legions bring in about $20 million a year from their poppy campaigns. In the Ottawa area, it brings in around half a million to three quarters of a million dollars every campaign — over a million if you include areas outside of the city like Renfrew, Napanee, Hawkesbury and Deep River.

But last year when many grocery and big box chains didn’t accept poppy boxes and legion volunteers couldn’t set up shop inside malls and outside storefronts, it was not nearly as successful of a year. 

All of that was able to resume again this year and Guy estimates they may have exceeded pre-pandemic levels which bring in around $75,000 in Barrhaven alone. 

“It was truly a happy surprise,” he said. “The citizens of Barrhaven were truly generous this year. We saw $100 bills put in the boxes, $50 bills put in the boxes. Right now we are still tallying the last little bit, but right now it looks like we might have exceeded the amount of donations we received in 2019 and before that which is great.”