By Nancy Miller Chenier
The Garry J. Armstrong Long-Term Care Home is situated on historic Porter’s Island and offers spectacular Rideau River views. It resulted from a public-private partnership (P3) to replace 1960s housing for seniors on the island initiated by then Mayor Charlotte Whitton. The principal consultant on the building project was J.L. Richards & Associates Limited of Ottawa, with design support from Mill & Ross Architects Inc. of Kingston. This Lowertown facility has 180 beds and is managed by the City of Ottawa.
The new building opened in 2005 and was named after Garry J. Armstrong, a former Commissioner of Homes for the Aged with the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton. Armstrong worked and volunteered in the field of “care for the aged” for many decades. In addition to municipal employment, he was at various times president of the Ontario Association of Non-Profit Homes and Services for Seniors, United Way Ottawa and Unitarian House, as well as serving on multiple non-profit boards related to the needs of seniors.