Ontario Construction News staff writer
Construction has started on The Village of Stouffer Mills, a new 192-bed long-term care home in Whitchurch-Stouffville.
The project is one of 67 long-term care homes fast-tracked last fall through the Ontario government’s enhanced construction funding subsidy.
Construction of The Village of Stouffer Mills is the first of three phases in developing a comprehensive campus-of-care for seniors, which will include accommodation and outreach programs across the region. This campus-of-care model helps integrate long-term care homes into the broader health care system, ensuring residents have convenient access to the care they need.
Designed by Anderson Wellsman Architects & Conerstone Architecture, the new building will feature several design improvements, including a 32-bed resident home area (RHA) on each of the six floors. These RHAs create a more intimate and familiar living space, complete with dining and activity areas, lounges, and bedrooms. Additionally, the design includes extensive common spaces along the ‘Main Street’ of the home, which links the individual home areas with the broader community.
“Congratulations to the team at The Village of Stouffer Mills on the construction of this new home. Our government is fixing long-term care and ensuring we build homes for seniors in the communities they helped build,” said Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care. “Today marks a significant milestone for the Town of Stouffville. When construction is complete, 192 residents will have a new, modern, and comfortable place to call home.”
The Ontario government’s increased construction funding subsidy, introduced to stimulate the start of construction for more long-term care homes, enabled 67 projects to receive ministry approval for construction between April 1, 2022, and August 31, 2023. As a result, 11,199 new and upgraded beds are being built to modern design standards across the province. Due to the success of this initiative, the government announced an extension to the construction funding subsidy on April 23, 2024, for all eligible projects approved to construct by November 30, 2024.
Also, the province is selling unused lands with the requirement that long-term care homes be built on portions of the properties, and leveraging hospital-owned land to build urgently needed homes in large urban areas.
The Village of Stouffer Mills will be operated by Schlegel Villages Inc