Sod-turning ceremony for ‘much needed’ expansion to seniors housing at Finlandia Village in Sudbury

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Construction on Sudbury seniors’ home expansion begins

Scenes from Finlandia Village's sod-turning ceremony

Construction has begun on an expansion to Finlandia Village in Greater Sudbury.

Saturday marked the official sod-turning ceremony at the seniors’ housing campus for what will be its seventh expansion since it was first created 40 years ago. The last expansion was 13 years ago. Dignitaries were on hand for the event -- including Hanna-Leena Korteniemi, Ambassador of Finland to Canada.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the new part of this that’s coming; it’s really exciting,” said long-time Finlandia resident Linda Hallsworth.

During the event, she told the crowd she’s been enjoying watching the trucks that have been working at the construction site.

According to Finlandia Village CEO David Munch, some work started before winter last year including site services like sewer, water and roads. Work crews will next create foundations, with the roof expected to be on just before next winter. The expansion is scheduled for completion by Summer 2026.

“Now we’re at a stage where we’re ready to start digging foundations and today’s sod-turning ceremony kicks it all off in a way that got our seniors all excited that something is going to happen,” said Finlandia Village Board Chair, Reijo Viitala.

The new space, to be called Tammi Home, will include a 32-bed long-term care home on the ground floor, with apartments on the second and third floors -- what is called a continuum of care since it provides for progression needs.

“You can move into an apartment and be independent or you can move into our long-term care homes,” Munch said.

“We have different levels of housing, different levels of care. It really is a community and really is a village of multitude of different things we offer seniors as they age.”

‘Much needed’ expansion

Much said the expansion is ‘much needed’ in the community.

“We’re getting people calling us every day looking to live here and it’s pretty hard to tell somebody in their 80s or 90s they have to wait 10 years to get in,” Munch said.

Adding 32 additional long-term care beds will bring the total at Finlandia to 144.

“We need these units, we need them to come open and support our community,” he added.

Finlandia announced the expansion plans in March 2024. That was also when it launched its capital campaign and a goal to raise $2 million. The total price tag is $36 million, with the long-term care beds being funded by the provincial government. The rest will be financed through the bank through a mortgage.

During the news conference on Saturday, SISU Foundation Board Chair Gerry Lougheed Jr. told the crowd they had raised $1.2 million within the first year of the capital campaign.

Viitala called Finlandia ‘a mosaic of Sudbury,’ meaning the population who lives there reflects the Sudbury population.

“You hear all the languages spoken here pretty much daily. And even though it’s a Finnish organization that built it and is running it, we welcome everyone in Sudbury,” he said. “I’m very proud of that fact and I think that reflects in the people interested in becoming our residents.”

During her speech, the Ambassador of Finland to Canada, Hanna-Leena Korteniemi noted how active many Finnish-Canadian communities are at upholding Finnish culture, language and community spirit.