The partnership was announced in January 2022 when the Province of Ontario, through the Ministry of Long Term Care, provisionally allocated 160 long-term care beds to the Town. When fully constructed, the Community Campus of Care project is expected to feature a 160 bed long-term care facility, retirement living accommodation focused on healthy seniors’ living, and
a variety of attainable housing units and dwellings to support the staff working at the Community Campus of Care.
The Community Campus of Care is proposed to be built on a portion of the Town-owned lands located at 125 Peel Street in Thornbury. Purchased last year, the 32-acre property has been long considered a key strategic property of interest by the Town with its proximity to Highway 26 and the Tomahawk Recreation Complex, providing future opportunities for both properties.
To ensure success, the Town retained SHS Consulting to help guide the project forward. SHS Consulting was responsible for working with the Town’s 125 Peel Street Task Force and Council to confirm Council's vision for the site and the key components that will be on the site and to source a private sector partner (or partners) to develop, own, manage, operate, and maintain the various components of the Community Campus of Care.
On July 6, 2022 the Town issued a Request for Qualification (2022-24-PQ-ADM) to pre-qualify prospective proponents based on the criteria eligibility for the Campus of Care development opportunity. Through the pre-qualification process, one submission was received from peopleCare Communities as the lead proponent in collaboration with SkyDev. The submission was qualified by the Ministry of Long-Term Care and the Town.
On October 6, 2022, the Town issued the Request for Proposal (2022-74-P-ADM) to receive proposals for the development of a Campus of Care. Through the formal procurement process, the Request for Proposal was completed and cancelled without a successful proponent meeting the minimum mandatory technical scoring requirements.
At the January 23, 2023, Closed Session Council meeting, staff were directed to negotiate with the lone qualified proponent, being peopleCare Communities and SkyDev, as permitted under Section 10 - Negotiation of the Town’s Purchasing of Goods and Services Policy (POL.COR.07.05), due to the time-sensitivity of the March 2023 Ministry deadline to secure a qualified long-term care provider for the provisional allocation of the one hundred and sixty (160) long-term care beds.