GREAT FALLS — A recent change in ownership at Eagles Manor in Great Falls is raising concerns among residents, caregivers, and civic leaders after the new management company announced plans to end meal service and transition the property to market-rate apartments.
Residents were notified in a memo that breakfast and dinner services will continue through June 30th. The building, which has long operated as an age 55-plus community, is also expected to open to residents 18 and older and transition units to market-rate rent as apartments are renovated.
City Commissioner Shannon Wilson said she began hearing from residents soon after the notice was distributed.
“I think about that 90-year-old veteran,” Wilson said. “How is he going to survive without… I can’t imagine him cooking meals on his own and trying to get by.”
Wilson said that while no one is being evicted immediately, the long-term concern is affordability as units are updated.
“From what I understand, nobody’s getting kicked out,” she said. “It’s going to be a transition as they renovate apartments to market rate.”
According to Julie Demarais, owner of A-La-Care Assisted Independence, 37 residents currently receive two meals a day at Eagles Manor, and another 10 receive one meal per day.
Demarais provides personal care services to two residents at the facility and attended a recent meeting held for residents regarding the proposed changes.
She said many of the studio apartments are not equipped for preparing full meals.
“These apartments are very small,” Demarais said. “They were provided a dorm-like refrigerator with very little freezer space. If they have a microwave, it’s because they brought it in.”
Demarais also described electrical issues reported by residents, including refrigerators shorting out when microwaves are used.
While Meals on Wheels was mentioned as a possible option, Wilson said the program is near capacity and is designed to supplement meals, not replace them.
“Meals on Wheels is at 400 people right now… It’s a supplement,” Wilson said. “So there’s no way they could survive on that one meal a day.”
Eagles Manor was recently purchased by Ness Management, a Washington-based company that lists 19 apartment properties in Great Falls.
MTN reached out to Ness Management for comment, but has not received a further response as of publication.
Demarais said while the food issue is immediate, her larger concern is what could happen if rents rise beyond what residents on fixed incomes can afford.
“You can fix a food problem a lot easier than you can fix a housing problem,” she said. “And that’s what I’m afraid of.”
Some residents are on month-to-month leases, while others signed year-long leases that included meal service, according to Demarais.
Wilson said the city’s authority in the matter is limited.
“It’s nothing that the city can do other than ensuring that city code is met and zoning regulations are met,” she said, adding that broader housing protections would likely require state or federal action.
Demarais is organizing a community meeting on Wednesday, February 17th, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Haute Hive, located at 721 Central Avenue, to discuss potential solutions.
She said the goal is to create a sustainable solution that allows seniors to continue eating safely while maintaining the social connections that come with shared meals.
“Nobody should be left with this degree of uncertainty, especially at this age,” Demarais said.
As discussions continue, residents and advocates say they are hoping for clarity about what the transition will mean, and whether Eagles Manor will remain affordable for the people who have long called it home.
