The first of six planned living unit renovations at the St. Amant centre is complete.

Cathy Romeo has been living at St. Amant for 28 years. Her sister, Josie Lucidi, was a part of of today's ribbon-cutting for the newly-renovated "3 West" living space in the facility on River Road.

Lucidi calls the renovated space beautiful, and a big improvement.

"It's now a space that, you know, the residents and the visitors and the families can enjoy," says Lucidi.

Juliette Mucha is the director of the St. Amant Foundation. She says the 3 West renovations took 11 months and cost $1.4-million.

"We created a more home-like environment for those who have complex needs who reside here," says Mucha.

Mucha says the building is nearing its centennial and it's aging, and it needed renovations.

"More dignified, respectful living accomodations, just beautiful lighting as well, softer lighting... customizations and personalizations of the room, we have a beautiful living room where families can now gather..., families can bring in food, they can come and cook if they wish as well... so we offered those choices," says Mucha.

St. Amant's River Road facility is changing from a developmental centre to a complex health care facility. St. Amant's president and CEO John Leggat says in a release that a big part of the changes associated with that include "refreshing the living areas, moving to one person rooms, warming up the environment so it’s less sterile and more conducive to natural living patterns of shared meals, family time, privacy and dignity."

Lucidi says having a private space makes family visits more enjoyable and conducive.

The Winnipeg Foundation was a major funder for the project, and the completed space can now be used to leverage support for renovating the five remaining living units.