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Long-Term Care · Medical · Regulated Environments

Healthcare & Long-Term Care
Construction in Ontario

Terrahills delivers long-term care homes, retirement residences, medical office buildings and community health facilities across Ontario. Group B institutional construction under OBC Part 3, designed to the Ministry of Long-Term Care Capital Funding Program, built with the infection-control discipline of our EU-GMP pharmaceutical work.

As of April 2026 Ontario has 165 long-term care projects completed, under construction or approved, representing 26,421 new and redeveloped beds, and the province has acknowledged it is unlikely to reach its 58,000-bed target by 2028. That is a capital program that will run well past this decade, concentrated where the aging population is. It is also a program with a specific delivery logic: the Capital Funding Program funds to 800 sq ft per bed at a maximum eligible cost per bed set by location tier, and the Construction Funding Subsidy that repays the capital is paid per bed per day for 25 years after first admission. Schedule to admission matters as much as build cost.

A long-term care home is Group B institutional occupancy: non-combustible construction at the building areas typically involved, fire-resistance-rated separations, sprinklered throughout, with the Ministry's Design Manual layered on top for resident home areas, dining and bathing. Where the project is a redevelopment on an occupied campus, Infection Control Risk Assessment protocols govern how construction and residents coexist. Our regulated-environment experience (cleanable surfaces, zoned areas, documentation prepared for inspection during construction rather than after) translates directly.

Terrahills manages the design team, the Ministry submission and the municipal site plan in parallel rather than in sequence, and carries the whole scope under one contract: land, approvals, servicing, structure, envelope, fit-out and commissioning to first admission.

Healthcare construction in Ontario operates under overlapping oversight: Ontario Building Code Part 3 institutional requirements, Ministry of Long-Term Care standards, Ministry of Health facility guidelines, and Infection Control Risk Assessment protocols for occupied facilities. We manage those requirements within one contract, including healthcare fit-outs and regulated-environment construction.

Our EU-GMP certified pharmaceutical facility in Ramara is the proof: a regulated environment with infection-control-grade finishes, zoned production and documentation delivered for regulatory sign-off during the build. The same discipline a long-term care home requires.

How we deliver healthcare

Six stages, one contract

The same delivery model as every Terrahills project (land, approvals, servicing, structure, envelope, handover) applied to what a healthcare building actually requires.

01
Site & funding feasibility

Confirm the Capital Funding Program tier for the site, the bed count the parcel and servicing can support, and the schedule to first admission that the Construction Funding Subsidy depends on.

02
Ministry submission & design

Coordinate the architect and engineers to the MLTC Design Manual and OBC Part 3 Group B requirements; run the Ministry design review and municipal site plan in parallel, not in sequence.

03
Approvals & servicing

Site plan, conservation authority sign-off, and the water and sanitary allocation an institutional building needs, carried as one track with the Ministry milestones.

04
Structure & envelope

Non-combustible construction and rated separations built to the classification the design establishes; envelope and mechanical designed for a 24-hour occupied building.

05
Fit-out & infection control

Resident home areas, dining, bathing and clinical spaces to the Design Manual; ICRA protocols and phased separations where the campus stays occupied through construction.

06
Commissioning to first admission

Life safety, mechanical and nurse-call systems commissioned and documented for the Ministry and the municipality, so licensing and first admission are not waiting on paperwork.

The full service list

What it costs

Healthcare cost bands, Ontario 2026

Hard construction cost — Ontario, 2026
Building typeHard cost, $ / sq ftBasisWhat moves it
Long-term care home≈ $545 – $940MLTC 2025 policy, derivedFunding tier: $436,000/bed (southern Ontario) to $750,000/bed (GTHA) at 800 sq ft/bed, capped at $1,100/sq ft eligible

Derived from the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care 2025 Capital Funding Policy: maximum eligible project cost per bed by tier, funded on 800 sq ft per bed with an eligible-cost ceiling of $1,100/sq ft. Medical office and retirement residences are priced per project. Hard costs only.

FAQ

Questions clients ask about healthcare & long-term care construction

The 2025 Capital Funding Policy sets the maximum eligible project cost at $750,000 per bed in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and $436,000 per bed across the rest of southern Ontario, funded on 800 square feet per bed and capped at $1,100 per square foot. That implies roughly $545–$940 per square foot all-in eligible cost depending on tier. We produce a Class C estimate against the full scope so the number reflects the site.
Group B institutional occupancy under Ontario Building Code Part 3, which brings non-combustible construction at the building areas typically involved, fire-resistance-rated separations and full sprinkler protection. The Ministry of Long-Term Care Design Manual sets the functional requirements on top.
Yes. Phased construction with Infection Control Risk Assessment protocols, temporary separations and sequencing that keeps resident areas isolated from construction. It is slower than a greenfield build and is planned that way from the start.
Yes: medical office buildings, ambulatory care, diagnostic and community health facilities. The mechanical, electrical and finish requirements differ from long-term care but the regulated-environment delivery is the same.
In parallel. Ministry design review and municipal site plan approval are separate tracks with separate timelines, and stacking them consecutively adds months. We run them together and sequence long-lead procurement against the realistic approval date.
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