New long-term care home in Huntsville to get upgrade

The Fairvern Long-Term Care Home in Huntsville is getting an upgrade, expanding to more than 185,000 square feet.

These are busy days for crews working on the new Fairvern Long-Term Care Home in Huntsville.

The new home is expected to be more than 185,000 square feet and cost a total of $135 million.

“On any given day, we could have up to 100 individuals working,” said Bryan Matchett from the District of Muskoka.

With a completion date less than a year away and the need to get new long-term care beds open, the race is on to get Muskoka’s newest long-term care home operational.

“Right now we have 56 people that call Fairvern home and once we move over here, we’ll have 160 people,” Carrie Acton, administrator for Fairvern. “People wait upwards of two to three years on the waitlist for long-term care.”

The new Fairvern development will replace the existing facility nearly one kilometre away. The new building has been designed to have as much natural light beam inside as possible. The building will also have a child care centre.

The District says many efforts have gone into making sure the building stays relevant for decades.

“It’s a concrete super structure which means the bones are poured casting placed concrete which has a better life expectancy than what you would using steel or wood frame,” Matchett explains.

While the new long-term care home is located in Huntsville, its benefits will be felt across the District. People living in Muskoka will have another option for loved ones.

“It’s for the community at large because there could be residents in Muskoka Lakes, for example, who will use this facility for members of their family and so, you know, it has an impact for everybody,” says Huntsville Mayor Nancy Alcock.

The project is expected to be operational by the end of the year.