Last Updated - June 19, 2025
Under its Pathways to Foundational Schools plan, the Toronto Lands Corporation (TLC) is committed to exploring how provincial priorities, including housing and long-term care facilities, can be integrated into existing properties of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). This initiative aligns with recent updates to Provincial Regulations and Planning Statements, which encourage school boards to pursue partnerships and joint-use arrangements, such as co-locating educational and community facilities, to further these objectives.
After receiving approval from the TLC Board in 2023, TLC staff investigated the possibility of integrating a long-term care facility at the site of St. Margaret’s Public School as part of an unsuccessful Capital Priority Submission to the Ministry of Education. More recently, TLC has received preliminary proposals from two established not-for-profit community long-term care providers, each interested in establishing long-term care facilities on underutilized TDSB lands located at 200 Poplar Road and 55 Overland Drive.
TLC sees several advantages in pursuing such partnerships. The proceeds from land sales, joint developments, or long-term leases could provide essential funding for the renewal and modernization of TDSB facilities. Co-locating long-term care facilities near schools also creates opportunities for innovative intergenerational programming, allowing students to benefit from experiential learning, volunteer opportunities, and social engagement. Establishing integrated community hubs where education, healthcare, and social services are offered in one location would establish these facilities as the foundation of their surrounding communities.
In the coming months, TLC will develop a framework for integrating long-term care facilities into TDSB properties. This framework will consider criteria and conditions for establishing such partnerships, how they will be developed and managed, and how they align with TDSB capital programs and funding to create efficiencies and cost savings. A report, including a Feasibility Work Plan for the two potential pilot sites, will be presented to the TLC Board by the end of 2025.
Conceptual illustration courtesy of MMMC Architects.