Lantzville’s upcoming long-term care home is meant to provide a setting that doesn’t feel institutional, according to the project’s lead designer.
Community members got a chance to view drawings and speak with representatives from Island Health and the design firm Stantec on Wednesday, Sept. 3, during the first of a series of open houses at Costin Hall.
The project is currently in the design development phase, and is expected to be presented to council later this fall. After that it would move into the construction document phase that comes before tendering for construction.
Stefan Schulson, Stantec’s lead architect for the project, told the News Bulletin that he’s hopeful shovels will go in the ground in 2026.
He said the main objective in the design is to bring “a new model of long-term care” to Island Health, by shifting away from an institutional setting to what he called a small-house model.
“It’s really moving away from that institutional hospital setting that has been prevalent for a long time and drawing on European models to really bring that down to make that a far more comforting and safe environment for the residents,” he said.
The wings on the upper floors of the three-storey building are organized into what Schulson refers to as “houses” with individual rooms that represent the client’s personal space and contains their own washroom, bed and small furnishings.
“There is the opportunity to have your own private personal space within the overall house unit, then, similar to someone being at home, you come out and you have a living room, dining room area.”
There are two ‘houses’ per floor and 14 rooms per house, with 306 beds in total including a 20-bed hospice unit. A 26-bed specialized population unit was originally planned, but Island Health stated that it is no longer included with updated designs.
On the first floor of the facility, a 37-space daycare is planned, with priority given to children of facility staff. There will will also be a meeting space and gathering hall, laundromat, hair salon, bistro and sacred space. Schulson said the meeting space will be something that can be used for concerts or other meetings.
“That central space also opens onto the outdoor courtyards, so that’s like an extension of that social space for all the residents and their families.”
When the Lantzville long-term care home was first announced in 2023, it was one of three long-term care homes planned along with Campbell River and Colwood. The designs between the three share the same fundamental elements, Schulson said, with subtle changes based on the footprint of the building.
Lantzville’s in particular is in a more rural setting, so the footprint can offer more green space and “take advantage of its current site setting,” he said.
“It’s a really prominent site so we wanted to be respectful of that and retain as much of the existing trees as we could, and then provide a real park-like setting.”
Diane MacKay, Island Health’s chief project officer for long-term care, was also present to answer questions from community members.
“I hope what people will take away is what we are proposing to do here is a really good amenity for the district and for the location and that we’re going to be building and developing something that is very much needed in the community,” MacKay said.
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