Area firm assumes control of former residence for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Former Jake’s House in Lucan was purchased by a local firm to create a new private home for those with disabilities. Sean Irvine reports.

A former community home that closed suddenly last year is set to reopen under private ownership and a new mission.

By mid-July, an existing three-storey building in Lucan will house a privately operated multigenerational retirement home serving 51 residents.

It will include a secure section for patients with dementia, a retirement community

and other areas of care not typically found.

“The rest will be the intergenerational neurodiversity, developmental disabilities,” explained Highview President Joy Birch.

Until February 2025, those groups exclusively occupied the building when it operated as Jake’s House.

Jake’s House closed amidst government funding cuts and ongoing multi-jurisdictional investigations.

But the reasoning mattered little to residents at the time.

“I’m really upset about it. I wish we could stay here another couple of years. It’s really emotional to me,” said Crystal Marshall, a former Jake’s House resident, on the day of the closure.

After the doors shut, Jake’s House sat idle, but Highview has now stepped in.

“We just followed the court process and bid on the buildings through receivership. And we were successful in getting it. So, we bought the building, got the keys, and on we go,” Birch said.

Renovations will begin immediately on the project, but Birch would not comment on the cost. The new facility will house almost twice as many residents.

“What I can tell you is that when you walk into that building after we open, it is going to feel like new,” she said.

While the resident mix at Highview Lucan will vary to meet regulations, Birch tells CTV News former Jake’s House residents are welcome to apply.

“We would welcome back any of the folks who lived in the building before. We would be so happy to hear from them. We would be so happy to meet them. I think that would be a wonderful thing,” she said.

And if their families can afford care at Highview Lucan, that pledge would certainly meet the wishes former residents had one year ago.

“I hope we get back here at some point,” said one female resident on the day of the closing.