Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Ontario government has sold the former Thistletown Regional Centre site in Etobicoke with a condition that a portion of the site be used for long-term care.
“In addition to providing world class care for our most vulnerable, the redeveloped Thistletown will include new recreational facilities that will be available to the public and will benefit the community for generations to come,” said Premier Doug Ford.
“Our government is fixing Ontario’s long-term care system and building new homes, like the one that will be built on this site, is a key part of our plan,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of Long-Term Care. “By selling unused provincial lands, more seniors can stay in their community, close to family and friends.”
Also, the Thistletown property is being sold with a requirement for recreational uses on the site, in the form of a community hub promoting indoor and outdoor active living and the province has identified a preference for affordable housing, veterans housing and/or seniors housing on this property.
To date, the government has sold one surplus government property and begun the process to sell five others with the requirement that purchasers develop and operate long-term care homes on the sites. These properties will provide up to 2,240 long-term care beds in areas where they are urgently needed.
The Surplus Provincial Lands program uses the sale of unused government properties to secure much-needed land for building long-term care homes in large urban areas of the province where available land is scarce and costly. The program also opens the door for additional uses such as affordable housing and recreational facilities.
Ontario now has 27,075 new and 22,955 upgraded beds in the development pipeline – which means more than 90 percent of the 30,000 net new beds being delivered are in the planning, construction and opening stages of the development process.