GPL and NCAM Redevelopment Project

Rendering of Golden Plough Lodge and NCAM facility

Northumberland County is constructing a new long-term care home, which will provide high-quality care for Northumberland seniors. The new 203,000 square foot facility will also be the new home for the Northumberland County Archives and Museum. The facility is being constructed on Courthouse Road in the Town of Cobourg, adjacent to the existing Golden Plough Lodge, on county-owned property.

The occupancy date for staff is set for June 2025, at which time furnishing, set-up, and commissioning will take place. Residents are expected to move into the new facility in the fall of 2025.

Construction update videos

Golden Plough Lodge

The Golden Plough Lodge (GPL) is the only municipally-operated long-term care home in Northumberland. Over the course of its over-100 year history, the GPL has provided quality, compassionate care to hundreds of local families.

Building on the commitment to support residents in maintaining a life with purpose, choice, dignity and respect, the new 180-bed facility has been a long-held vision as a place where more Northumberland seniors will have access to quality care in their own community. This home will include a combination of one- and two-bed rooms across six Resident Home Areas, with features designed to ensure resident comfort and safety, promote resident independence, and provide for resident privacy. The facility will include:

Fireside lounges
A café and hair salon
A greenhouse for agri-therapy
An auditorium for concerts and resident events
Outdoor courtyards and pathways

Take a virtual tour

Watch a virtual tour video to explore the concept design for the Golden Plough Lodge long-term care home.

Northumberland County Archives and Museum

An innovative addition to this redevelopment project will be the integration of the Northumberland County Archives & Museum (NCAM) where Northumberland’s rich history will be preserved and shared in a new archive and museum. The new space has been designed to achieve mandated duties to preserve municipal records while delivering enhanced programming and exhibitions and increased access to underrepresented local historical and cultural collections.

This facility will include:

A permanent display about the history of Northumberland County
An expanded reading room for public research
A processing & conservation lab
A quarantine area for new/unprocessed artefacts/documents
A gallery for community groups to showcase the stories they wish to tell

Our commitment to sustainability

We are focused on ensuring that the new facility offers a positive and healthy experience for our residents, visitors and employees.

Emphasis will be on energy efficiency and the reduction and mitigation of potential environmental impacts of the new building. We are pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification. This program is run by a national, not-for-profit organization called Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC).

Construction Schedule

Phase 1 (In progress)

Phase 2

Phase 3

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To stay up to date on the progress of construction of the new GPL & NCAM facility, subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

See past project updates

Photo updates

Photo Gallery: GLP and NCAM Progress will appear here on the public site.

News updates

County Celebrates International Museum Day with release of logo and concept drawings of new facility - May 17, 2023
County breaks ground on new Golden Plough Lodge & Northumberland County Archives and Museum facility - December 14, 2020
County receives Government of Canada funding towards new Archives & Museum facility - October 6, 2020
County Archives undergoes name change to better represent scope of services - July 25, 2019
Construction of new GPL and County Archives facility a step closer with completion of schematic design - February 20, 2019
29 More Long-Term Care Beds for Seniors in Northumberland - May 7, 2018

Frequently asked questions

Will the County repurpose the existing Golden Plough Lodge for community housing once residents relocate to the new facility?

The County continues to invest in the existing Golden Plough Lodge (GPL) to ensure our residents are both safe and comfortable, until residents can transition to the new facility.

However, building assessments have confirmed that the current facility has reached its end-of-life. It’s one of the reasons the new GPL is being constructed.

The current GPL is a mix of wings built during different periods ranging from the 1950's to the 1980's. To repurpose this facility for housing/shelter, prior to any new occupancy, there would be requirements related to bringing the aging building up to today’s building codes; making significant structural alterations (requiring near-demolition); updating heating, cooling and plumbing systems; and then planning to maintain this aging infrastructure into the future.

Early in the redevelopment process, the County determined that, rather than making significant investments in an already end-of-life facility, the better course of action is to:

Continue developing purpose-built housing - like the Elgin Park redevelopment in Cobourg and the King Street East redevelopment in Colborne; or
Renovating buildings in good condition that closely align with a planned use case - like the purchase of 310 Division Street, a small 40-room structure with minimal alterations and updates required to serve as a homeless shelter.

How large is the new facility?

Why was the decision made to pair the redevelopment of the long-term care home with a new archives and museum facility?

This new facility includes space for the relocation of the Northumberland County Archives and Museum (NCAM). Currently co-located within the Cobourg Library, the organization has expanded its mandate in recent years to include official repository responsibilities for several member municipalities and has outgrown its current capacity for storage and display. As the County was in the planning stages for the redevelopment of the Golden Plough Lodge, it identified the opportunity to also create space for the new NCAM.

By pairing NCAM with the new GPL, Northumberland County is pursuing the development of an innovative new asset for the community.