Toronto announces plans to build Scarborough LTC home
The City of Toronto has announced plans to build a new long-term care (LTC) home in Scarborough.
Mayor John Tory was among those to announce the construction plans on June 14.
The new home, which will be located on Finch Avenue East, is scheduled to open in 2026. The city says it will deliver more beds, meet new provincial design standards for LTC homes and help improve services for residents in the area. Opportunities for co-location on the site are being explored and may include an adult day program, community hub or paramedic post.
Depending on the configuration, the home will accommodate between 336 and 365 residents.
“Long-term care homes have provided a vital support system for Toronto’s aging population,” Tory said. “As we continue to see growth in our seniors population, we need to ensure that as a city we are expanding and evolving the support and services we offer. I look forward to seeing this new home that will allow us to accommodate even more residents and provide the necessary care vulnerable residents in our city need.”
The new home will allow residents from existing city-operated LTC homes and others on wait lists for care to relocate to the new and expanded location.
Work has already started on the procurement process for the project design, which is expected to start later this year. A detailed transition plan will be developed and implemented when the time comes to move residents to the new location.
“This is fantastic news for the residents in Scarborough North,” said Scarborough North Councillor Cynthia Lai. “When the Carefree Lodge redevelopment is complete, they will have access to a city long-term care home in their area allowing family and friends to remain close by as their loved ones transition into a long-term care home.”
The city has committed $175 million to the project through its capital budget, but is looking for further support from senior levels of government.
Recently, the provincial Ministry of Long-Term Care announced the city’s Bendale Acres LTC home in Scarborough will receive $1.5 million in Behavioural Specialized Unit pilot funding to provide accommodation, care, services, programs and goods for residents with heightened responsive behaviours that are not able to be safely and effectively managed within other LTC home resident areas.
In total, the City of Toronto has five LTC homes planned for redevelopment – Carefree Lodge, Castleview Wychwood Towers, Fudger House, Lakeshore Lodge and Seven Oaks – and will upgrade 1,232 existing beds while also adding 978 new beds into its directly-operated LTC bed inventory.