The owners wanted an energy-efficient facility where they could provide independent living, palliative, and end-of-life care in Ontario, Canada. This family-operated retirement residence aims to be a premier aging-in-place facility by keeping their residents healthy and active. The campus includes a salt-water swimming pool, library, theater, chapel, gym, meditation zone, and lots of spaces for gathering.

This was a massive project with many construction complexities. The building had a basement and five floors, plus a parapet. All of the of the main floor windows were arched, giving the building a regal, old-world appearance. The structure has 450 openings in total. Walls needed to be plumb and square for the core slab and masonry exterior. The entire footprint was built on originally 16’-deep bedrock and the 2'-4'-high footings were not backfilled prior to starting ICF. Coupled with this, extreme early winter conditions brought frequent periods of freezing rain and heavy snow during the build.

All the more, the architect, engineer, owner, and many of the sub-trades had little to no experience with ICF. The Fox Blocks team provided all the necessary on-site support from design development through construction for a successful end result.

“I’ve never been in such a quiet building before! It’s just such a peaceful place. Looking through the window is like watching television with the sound turned off.”
— Hazeldean resident

Project Stats

Location: Stittsvile, Ontario
Industry: Multi-family
Size: 122,500 sq. ft. (Floor)
ICF Use: 96,741 sq. ft.
Cost: $40 million
Total Construction: 99 weeks
ICF Installation Time: 220 days

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