Grey County is adjusting its financial plans for next year as construction delays push the opening of the new Rockwood Terrace long-term care home further into 2027.
Reports before the county's Long-Term Care Committee of Management and redevelopment task force today show construction of the new Durham facility is about 77 per cent complete.
The latest schedule calls for construction to be substantially completed in late March, with residents expected to move into the new home sometime in the summer of 2027. That is later than previously anticipated and is now affecting Grey County's budget assumptions for both 2027 and 2028.
County staff say the revised schedule is expected to result in "lower projected operating costs" during the transition period because the larger replacement home will not be operating as early in the year as previously planned.
Grey County's preliminary 2027 long-term care budget projects about $119.9 million in total expenditures across Rockwood Terrace, Grey Gables in Markdale and Lee Manor in Owen Sound.
The projected net levy requirement is about $12.5 million.
The new Rockwood Terrace is being built beside the existing long-term care home in Durham.
County documents attribute the latest delay to scheduling challenges, winter conditions and delays in obtaining some materials.
Staff say the revised timeline does not change the project's approved $96-million capital budget or its quality standards.
However, the county says some emerging issues could still affect the construction schedule.
Those include concerns involving gas pressure and the supply of wall-protection materials, although staff say the extent of any potential impact is "currently unknown."
The existing Rockwood Terrace continues to operate while construction is underway.
The current home accommodates about 100 residents, while the new facility is being built with 128 beds.
Grey County says the redevelopment is intended to replace the aging existing facility while adding long-term care capacity in the Durham area.
