Ottawa Construction News staff writer
Construction is underway at Village Green, a redeveloped long-term care home in Lennox and Addington County.
The Ontario government is providing a supplemental increase to the construction funding subsidy to stimulate the start of construction by Aug. 31 for more long-term care homes across the province, including the Village Green project. Not-for-profit homes have the option to receive a portion of the funding as an up-front construction grant payable at the start of construction. The supplemental increase is part of the funding for long-term care home development.
“Congratulations to Village Green on their groaund-breaking for an upgraded, modernized home. Our government is fixing long-term care and a key part of that plan is building modern, safe and comfortable homes for our seniors,” said Paul Calandra, minister of long-term care. “Today marks a significant milestone and when construction is completed, 128 residents will have a new place to call home, near their family and friends.”
The 128-bed home will be built in Greater Napanee and will provide 62 new and 66 upgraded beds in private and basic rooms. The new home will also feature design improvements including larger resident common areas and air conditioning throughout the home. The design is centred around ‘resident home areas’ to create more intimate and familiar living spaces for up to 32 residents, with dining and activity areas, lounges and bedrooms. The redevelopment of Village Green is expected to be completed and welcoming its first residents in spring 2025.
Ontario is also funding another project in Greater Napanee – at Lennox & Addington County General Hospital. Together, the two projects will include 190 new and 66 upgraded long-term care beds built to modern design standards.
“The seniors in our community deserve to have good places to live out their years. I am proud that this government has done what the previous government dithered on for 15 years,” said Lennox and Addington MPP Ric Bresee. “We are building 30,000 new long-term care beds, and we are training thousands of healthcare staff to provide the enhanced four hours of care per day service that we have mandated.”
As of April 2023, more than 40,000 people were on the waitlist to access a long-term care bed in Ontario. The median wait time is 123 days for applicants to be placed in long-term care.
“We are thrilled to be working with the Ontario government to address the demands for long-term care in our community,” said Raheem Hirji, president & CEO, Omni Quality Living. “Driving change to meet stronger needs for exceptional care and quality living aligns closely with our mission and values.”
