The debate over the Willow Square housing development project has been heating up, and things reached a high point at a recent council meeting. City owned Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corporation has presented the community with plans that include a community village which will be located at Hospital Street and Franklin Avenue and will have senior housing, retail spaces, residential towers, and commercial properties. Some critics are upset that the village will not be exclusively reserved for seniors, but the Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corporation does not believe that a seniors only village would be sustainable. According to WBHDC President Bryan Lutes “We really want and need to create development that is sustainable. We did not think that we were going to be able to please 100% of people in this project. We were not delusional in that.”

The Willow Square council meeting had supporters and critics of the project both. “According to resident Myrtle Dussault “The wording creates confusion to the respondents. We do not want something to be built that will be a detriment to seniors under the name of seniors.” Fort MacMurray Mayor Melissa Blake said “I was pretty interested in hearing the citizen delegates in terms of what their interests are. I think Myrtle did a very good job, and we’ve got so many issues we want to be aware of. What people need to know is that seniors are the dominant proposal, except that they need to be funded somehow and part of that is a part of the alternative development.”