Children’s First Consortium wins bid to build new Grandview Kids headquarters in Ajax
Published March 2, 2022 at 12:18 pm
After nearly 40 years serving special needs children in south-east Oshawa, Grandview Kids is on the move.
The Children’s First Consortium has been selected to build a brand-new headquarters on five acres of land (donated by the Town of Ajax) at 1461 Harwood Avenue North in Ajax, just north of the twin high schools J. Clarke Richardson Collegiate and Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School.
The move has been in the works for 14 years, and ten months after Grandview issued a Request for Proposal, Children’s First was announced as the preferred proponent to design, build and finance the ‘New Grandview Kids.’
“We have been working toward this moment for many years,” said Lorraine Sunstrum-Mann, Chief Executive Officer of Grandview Kids. “We have imagined a space that offers high-quality, child-centred care in a facility that welcomes all families. We have been guided by the vision of hope, belonging, discovery and celebration for all families. We know the Children First Consortium shares in this vision, and we are one step closer to seeing our dream come to life.”
The Children First Consortium team includes:
- Applicant Leads: Amico Design Build Inc., Sacyr Construction S.A
- Design Team: Parkin Architects, H.H. Angus and Associates Limited
- Construction Team: Amico Design Build Inc., Sacyr Construction S.A
- Financial Advisor: Stonebridge Financial Corporation
The project is delivered as a Design-Build-Finance contract using a Public-Private Partnerships (P3) model, which transfers the risks associated with design, construction and financing to the private sector.
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Construction is hoped to be underway this spring, though the details on the construction schedule and the scope of the building are unknown at this time, said Taryn Eickmeier, the Director of Strategic Communications, Partnership & Engagement with Grandview Kids. “Final dates and schedule will be determined through the procurement process,” she explained, with details and renderings to be shared in “future communications.”
The facility was estimated to cost $44 million when Ajax donated the land in 2015. At that time Grandview Kids was looking at a 68,000 square-foot building. By 2019, when the federal government announced a $17.5 million investment in the project, the building’s estimated size had grown to 130,000 square-feet.
Artist rendering
The new Grandview Kids headquarters will be a centre of excellence in paediatric care and will include:
- Centre-Wide Therapy Services: occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech-language pathology, therapeutic recreation, audiology, infant hearing, blind low-vision, social work
- Ontario Autism Program including Autism Diagnostic Hub, Foundational Family Support Program, Early Years Caregiver-Mediated Program, Entry to School Program and Core Services
- Preschool Outreach Program
- School-Based Rehabilitation
- Developmental Paediatric Medical Services including specialized medical clinics
- Family/caregiver resources and support
- Campbell Children’s School
Once complete, Grandview Kids will consolidate the existing main site in Oshawa and multiple satellite locations into one purpose-built site in Ajax. Grandview Kids will maintain three satellite locations in Bowmanville, Port Perry and Oshawa – as well its partnership with the Abilities Centre in Whitby – to reduce extensive travel times for some clients and their families.
The larger, fully accessible facility will also allow Grandview Kids to expand and enhance existing services, introduce new ones, and provide the ability to serve more patients and caregivers in one of Canada’s fastest growing communities.
It will also help reduce a wait-list for services that had grown to nearly 4,000 three years ago.
As for the future of the current headquarters in Oshawa, which has been in operation since 1983, Eickmeier said that will be a decision made after the Ajax site is open. “Future plans for the Oshawa main site are under review with the Grandview Board of Trustees,” she said.
Grandview Kids – founded in 1953 – is an independently operated, not-for-profit Children’s Treatment Centre in Durham Region. A Centre of Excellence for paediatric assessment, care and rehabilitation, Grandview Kids provides specialized programs, medical services, and outpatient clinical treatment and support to thousands of children and youth with physical, communication and developmental needs, as well as support for parents and caregivers. Its mission is to help every child and youth live life to their full potential.
For more information about Grandview Kids, visit: http://grandviewkids.ca/. To donate to the organization, visit https://www.grandviewkidsfoundation.ca/.
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