Global entertainment design specialist, FORREC Ltd, has been tasked with reimagining a Canadian retirement community in Hamilton, Ontario.
The company is providing master planning for St Elizabeth Village, a 114-acre site that will be redeveloped to include 3000 new homes, communal amenities and entertainment facilities.
“Retirement today means more than golfing and sitting on the porch, ” commented Steven Rhys, Executive Vice President, FORREC Ltd. “Our experience is people want a place where they can grow younger – that has life, energy, things to do, fun things to watch, and has an appeal for their friends and family. That is the future of St. Elizabeth Village.”
Tony DiFruscio, President of Novacare Communities, the developers of the project, took the unusual step of appointing the resort and attractions experts:
“It may sound unconventional to hire a theme park designer for a project like this, but it made perfect sense to me. Theme parks are places where people feel good – we wanted to create that exact feeling in an active resort community.”
With experts predicting that one in four Canadians will be 65 or older by 2036, the demand for quality, active community living is likely to grow.
FORREC has already completed three similar projects for The Villages in central Florida, one of the most successful lifestyle communities in North America.
“FORREC understood that we were trying to create a place where people can pursue their passions because they’ve earned it, ” adds DiFruscio.