Development of unused government land will bring 640 modern long-term care spaces to the community
OAKVILLE — Ontario is marking the start of construction at two new Schlegel Villages long-term care homes, which will provide a safe and supportive home for 640 residents in the community. The development is made possible by the province’s Surplus Lands program that helps build long-term care beds where they are needed most. These projects are part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario by creating good-paying jobs and building for the future, while ensuring long-term care residents get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve.
“Our government is improving long-term care by building more homes, hiring more staff and making historic investments to support families and protect their loved ones,” said Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care. “By developing unused provincial lands in the GTHA, we are finding innovative solutions to meet increasing demand. Today marks a significant milestone for the Schlegel Villages projects in Oakville. Once construction is complete, 640 residents will have a new home where they can receive the care they need, when they need it.”
The new Schlegel Villages long-term care homes will collectively be known as The Village of Heritage Trails and will include 554 new and 86 upgraded spaces to create two 320-bed homes. Designed to improve the quality of life for residents, each home will include 10 “resident home areas” that create a more intimate and familiar living space for up to 32 residents with their own dining and activity areas and bedrooms. The homes will be connected via the first floor and will feature a “main street” with a library, spiritual centre, café and common areas for programming and engagement, as well as a health centre, spa, corner store and pharmacy. Schlegel Villages also intends to build retirement housing as part of future development of this site, giving seniors more choices.
The Village of Heritage Trails is expected to welcome its first residents in summer 2028. Once completed, the homes will support approximately 1,000 good-paying jobs including full-time positions in nursing, personal support work, nutrition services, programming and administration, as well as approximately 700 jobs in the construction industry during project construction.
The province is repurposing unused government properties for the benefit of Ontario families through the Surplus Lands program, which helps build long-term care beds, housing and other social infrastructure. This innovative approach to building new long-term care homes will help address the increasing demand for long-term care beds in large urban areas, where available land is scarce and costly.
This development is part of the Ontario government’s continued progress toward its commitment to build 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds across the province, as outlined in the 2026 Ontario Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario. The plan to improve long-term care is built on four pillars: staffing and care; quality and enforcement; building modern, safe and comfortable homes; and connecting seniors with faster, more convenient access to the services they need.
Quick Facts
- The two long-term care homes that will be known as The Village of Heritage Trails are located in Oakville and will be licensed to and operated by Schlegel Villages Inc.
- As of July 2026, 165 projects representing a total of 26,421 new and redeveloped beds are completed, under construction or have ministry approval to start construction across the province.
- The homes will participate in Living Classrooms training in partnership with Sheridan College, which integrates education into long-term care homes and allows students to apply what they learn as they work with residents.
- These projects are recipients of the construction funding subsidy (CFS) and the time-limited CFS top-up that were introduced in 2022.
- The government is continuing its ambitious and extensive long-term care construction campaign with the 2025 Long-Term Care Home Capital Funding Policy and Capital Funding Program (CFP). The CFP provides a funding framework that better reflects regional cost variations while addressing diverse operator needs within the long-term care sector.
- The province is taking innovative steps to get long-term care homes built, including modernizing its funding model, selling unused lands with the requirement that long-term care homes be built on portions of the properties, and leveraging hospital-owned land to build urgently needed homes in large urban areas.
Quotes
“As part of our government’s plan to build and protect Ontario, we are repurposing underused provincial properties to save taxpayer dollars, create more jobs and accelerate the delivery of key infrastructure priorities like building more long-term care homes across the province. The ground-breaking of two new long-term care homes is an important milestone for seniors and families in Oakville and brings us one step closer to providing an additional 640 long-term care beds and high-quality care.”
– Todd McCarthy
Acting Minister of Infrastructure
“Today’s ground-breaking is a special milestone for Oakville, building on our government’s collaboration with the Town of Oakville and Schlegel Villages. The Schlegel family has demonstrated a deep commitment to our community through Tansley Woods and its innovative campus of care and living classroom. The Village of Heritage Trails will continue to build on that commitment, bringing 640 long-term care spaces – including 554 new and 86 upgraded spaces – as well as approximately 700 construction jobs and 1,000 long-term care-related jobs. I am proud to see this vision becoming a reality and look forward to welcoming Oakville seniors to their new home. Our government’s plan to protect Ontario includes ensuring that seniors have quality of care and quality of life close to their families and community.”
– Effie Triantafilopoulos
MPP, Oakville North—Burlington
“Our vision is to build a place where every resident is known, every family feels welcomed and every team member has the opportunity to build meaningful relationships. The family culture that has always defined life in a Schlegel Village will be at the heart of Heritage Trails from its very first day. We thank the Ontario government for their support in enabling this vision to come to life.”
– James Schlegel
President & CEO of Schlegel Villages
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