Brantford moving forward with plan to transform former long-term care facility into housing hub

Brantford City Hall on Dec. 30, 2024. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News)

The City of Brantford has announced a plan that could create almost 150 affordable homes.

On Tuesday, city council approved the Fox Ridge Business Plan. It includes three phases to transform the former Fox Ridge Care Community property at 389 West Street into a housing hub offering emergency shelter space, transitional housing, supportive services and, eventually, affordable housing.

According to the city, Phase 1 would focus on creating an emergency shelter space for families, couples, women and vulnerable people. They hope to wrap up that work by Oct. 1, 2026.

Transitional and supportive housing are the next priority and will be tackled in Phase 2. The services would include onsite health, social and stabilization supports. The city estimates that work will begin in January 2027 and end in 2028.

In Phase 3, the city will focus on building permanent housing options. Right now, preliminary designs showed the 4.82-acre site could host between 72 and 144 modular units.

Council’s vote on Tuesday allows staff to begin work on a hybrid support model, while also approving $11.47 million to cover the acquisition and renovations. That money will come through a combination of the Affordable Housing Reserve and the province’s Building Faster Fund. That phase is expected to start in early 2027 and wrap up in 2030.

The city took possession of Fox Ridge on Oct. 30, 2025. Work is currently underway to prepare the building to welcome 50 long-term care residents from Six Nations of the Grand River. They will be living in part of the building starting in the new year, after flooding in June forced them out of Iroquois Lodge. The City of Brantford said the upcoming renovation work should not disrupt those residents.

The city will be hosting an open house on Dec. 11 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Fox Ridge. Residents are invited to ask questions and raise any concerns they have about the facility’s future.