2022-05-04
Site for new long-term care facility in Liverpool selected
by KEVIN MCBAIN
LIVERPOOL - A site has been selected for the new 112-bed long-term care home project.
Christopher Clarke, chair of the Queens Care Building Society (QCBS), said in an interview that a suitable location has been found.
"We have selected a site, though there are lots of details to be worked out, we are looking at the lands immediately east of the Best Western Plus hotel in Brooklyn," he said. "We are building plans around that site, but we are still working out the details. Can we buy it? Can we afford it? All those kinds of things."
Clarke said the Region of Queens Municipality helped out by putting together a map of locations that would be suitable for the project. Staff came up with about 20 pieces of land, roughly 10 acres in size, in the greater Liverpool region.
From there, QCBS looked carefully at each area before deciding on this area to focus on.
"This site not only meets the provincial standards, but it also meets the criteria, that we as a society set up," he said. "Which was the facility should be a part of the community and not stuck back in the woods or on a remote hill. Residents in long-term care homes like to be able to see activity, see people and feel a part of the community."
COMPLETION DATE CHANGED
The original timeline for the project had the ribbon cutting on the project set for December 2024, however, due to several setbacks, the time has been moved back to September 2025.
Clarke said, "there was a bit of a delay in starting up, then we ran into COVID-19 and the delays that this imposed," adding that the addition of more beds from 96 to 112 announced a few months ago changed things up as well.
Along with these two points, the society recognized that there have been supply chain issues and other challenges being experienced in the construction industry.
After taking a step back and re-examining the timeline, it was decided that there was no way that the original timeline that had been set could be met.
PROJECT MANAGER HIRED
The society also announced that they have hired a project manager, Tate Engineering based in Fall River. Murray Tate, vice-president of operations, will oversee the project.
"We had several companies apply and we went through a fairly rigorous selection process," noted Clarke. "Given their (the company) experience and what they brought to the job, they were selected and the province agreed that we should engage with them."
NEXT STEPS
Request for Proposals (RFP) for architectural and other professional services were issued April 1 to four large Canadian firms with experience in designing and building long-term care homes.
Responses will be assessed and it is expected that a design team will be in place by the end of May.
Work is also continuing on what is called Step 3 of the province's 11-step process for building care homes. This step is looking at the inside of the building, such as the layout and overall flow of the building with the input from staff and residents of Queens Manor and Hillsview Acres.
The provincial government announced a new facility in December of 2021 that will replace Queens Manor in Liverpool and Hillsview Acres in Middlefield. In February 2022, it was announced that the number of beds included in the project will increase from 96 to 112.
