Plans for the new Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent are taking a significant step forward.
Officials with the treatment centre announced on Monday afternoon that, following a competitive process, Montgomery Sisam Architects has accepted the role of Lead Architect for the new CTC-CK Redevelopment Project.
According to Executive Director of the CTC-CK Donna Litwin-Makey, Montgomery Sisam Architects have been designing family-centred, community-based facilities for more than 40 years.
“Montgomery Sisam Architects has a robust portfolio of experience in designing child and youth-focused facilities that will ensure the successful design of our project," said Litwin-Makey. "They understand the need to design a developmentally appropriate space that is accessible and safe for children of different ages, sizes and abilities."
Litwin-Makey noted that there are many considerations that go into building a new Children's Treatment Centre and feedback into the design process is fundamental to creating a facility that meets the needs of its clients and families.
The CTC is currently located on Lark Street in Chatham and the new building will be located on McNaughton Avenue West across from the St. Clair College Thames Campus.
Design Project Leader and Director and Principal at Montgomery Sisam Architects Santiago Kunzle said that despite the challenges the current CTC-CK building has faced, it has continued to be a place to cultivate positive connections and build a sense of community.
“This is an exciting project for Chatham-Kent, and we are delighted to have been chosen to be a part of it," she said. "This is work that, in its essence, is about equity, inclusion, and resilience; about removing barriers to create spaces and places for therapeutic services, friendship and belonging.”
As part of the 2021 Ontario Budget, it was announced that the province would be setting aside some funding for the development of an approximately 55,000-square-foot Children’s Treatment Centre to improve access to services for children and youth with special needs in Chatham-Kent.
The new facility will be double the size of the current location and will incorporate a family-friendly design with additional space to reduce wait times for rehabilitation services such as speech therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and autism services.
In May 2022, Chatham-Kent council unanimously approved an additional $1.6 million for the construction of the centre’s new building. Council previously approved a $1.5 million grant in 2017.
The new building was estimated to cost $28.5 million in 2017, but the cost has skyrocketed to $48 million because of inflation.