Work on the new long-term care home currently under construction at Ajax Pickering Hospital has reached the nine-month mark and progress continues at a rapid pace, said a hospital announcement.
The structure of the home is now complete; focus is now on interior and exterior projects and finishes. For example, elevator installations began in September, and crews continue to install the home’s roof and pour concrete on some of the curbs on the outside road network.
Exterior panel installation is also underway and set to be completed this fall. The home’s progress is, in large part, due to the Government of Ontario’s Accelerated Build Pilot Program. In partnership with the provincial government, PCL Construction, and Infrastructure Ontario, the new long term care home will be completed sooner than a traditional build, thanks to the integrated modular construction approach, schedule, technology innovations, rapid procurement, and the use of hospital lands.
Once completed in early 2022, the home will bring 320 long term care beds to the Durham Region. Ontario proposes to deliver 30,000 much-needed new long-term care beds to the province.
On August 27, Lakeridge Health held a ‘topping off’ ceremony to celebrate the completion of the sixth and final floor of the long-term care home. A ‘topping off’ is a tradition on building sites signifying that the highest point of a building has been reached.