Construction is nearing the home stretch on an estimated $7.6-million redevelopment of the century-old Maple View Lodge outside the village of Athens, Ont.
BY PATRICIA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
Construction is nearing the home stretch on an estimated $7.6-million redevelopment of the century-old Maple View Lodge outside the village of Athens, Ont.
The project, which is being undertaken by Ottawa-based Westeinde Construction Ltd., includes both improvements to the long-term-care facility as well as an expansion. Two new wings, each housing a 30-bed resident living area, flank the original building.
Architects are Ottawa’s Watson MacEwen.
In a statement, the architects said retaining the original lodge as a central component in the new facility was “the point of departure” for the design concept.
The one-time county “house of industry” now houses the main entrance, administration, food services and other support spaces.
The new resident living areas are organized around a street-like central corridor, which provides spaces for socializing. So-called Dutch bedroom doors enable daylight and breezes to enter the corridor from the bedrooms.
These doors also allow the residents to control the degree of privacy they wish to maintain in their rooms.
Double-height activity rooms and lounges are focal points for each wing. These areas are framed in heavy timber, “not unlike the agricultural structures that surround the lodge.”
Other lounges take advantage of distant views of the landscape and the nearby village of Athens.
Externally, the new wings are simple, white clapboardcovered structures, similar in character to the ancillary structures and outbuildings attached to traditional brick farmhouses throughout the region.
The redevelopment project is being carried out for the United Counties of Leeds & Grenville, which has operated the facility since 1972.
In 1997, the Ministry of Housing and Long Term Care designated the lodge as a ‘D” grade long-term-care centre. But major capital improvements were required to continue operating.
Watson MacEwen, then L.D. Watson Architect Inc., was retained in 2000 to provide full architectural services for the 52,100-square-foot redevelopment project.
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