By Cecilia Nasmith

An extensive multi-year planning-and-design process reached an important milestone Monday, as construction on the new Golden Plough Lodge and Northumberland County Archives and Museum officially started at a ground-breaking ceremony.

Expected to be built by fall of 2022, the 203,000-sq.-ft. joint facility will be located on Courthouse Road in Cobourg, on county-owned land adjacent to the current Golden Plough.

“Today is the day where we begin bringing this long-held vision to reality,” Warden Bob Sanderson stated.

“The new GPL and NCAM facility will be a place where more seniors get access to the high-quality care they deserve in their own community, and where Northumberland’s rich local history will be preserved and featured for generations to come.

“It is a wonderful day for our community, and on behalf of county council we look forward to new milestones achieved as we move forward with this exciting project.”

The new 180-bed Golden Plough Lodge will include a combination of one- and two-bed rooms across six Resident Home Areas, with features designed to ensure comfort and safety, promote independence and provide privacy.

The facility will include fireside lounges, a café, hair salon, greenhouse (for agri-therapy), auditorium for concerts and resident events, and outdoor courtyards and pathways

The Northumberland County Archives and Museum space has been designed to achieve mandated duties to preserve municipal records, while delivering enhanced programming and exhibitions (and increasing access to underrepresented local historical and cultural collections).

This facility will include a permanent display about the county's history, an expanded reading room for public research, a processing and conservation lab, a quarantine area for new and unprocessed artifacts and documents, and a gallery where community groups can showcase the stories they wish to tell.

Northumberland Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Moore remarked that the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of a modernized home for Golden Plough residents and staff.

“The new GPL has been designed from the ground up to meet the latest government standards for long-term care,” Moore stated.

“This includes everything from updated air exchange systems and fabrication materials that minimize the spread of infection, to specific zones for the movement of food and linens versus waste, and self-containment capacity for each Resident Home Area.

“Most importantly, it has been designed to look and feel like home,” she added.

“And as we honour the residents who will live in the new GPL with exceptional care and quality facilities, so too will we be honouring our local history with the creation of a new space for NCAM. By pairing these two facilities, Northumberland County is pleased to be developing of an innovative new asset for our community.”

Salter Pilon Architecture Inc. provided the detailed design for this facility and will oversee contract administration for the duration of the project - working closely with Matheson Constructors, who were recently awarded the tender for construction.

This $116 million facility is being built, in part, with funds from the provincial and Federal governments.

Under the modernized funding model, the province will invest some $4.5-million for up-front construction costs and a construction subsidy of about $37-million over the next 25 years for the long-term-care portion of this project. As well, the Infrastructure Ontario Loan Program is also providing nearly $97-million to help make the Golden Plough project a reality.

In October, the county announced $432,406 from Canadian Heritage through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund towards establishment of the Archives and Museum space.

For information and updates about this project, including a three-minute concept virtual tour of the Golden Plough Lodge long-term care home portion of the project, visit Northumberland.ca/GPL_NCAM.