SPRE National Accelerator Spotlight:
Leamington Mennonite Home

Leamington Mennonite Home is a faith-based, not-for-profit seniors’ housing and care provider with a long-standing presence in Leamington, Ontario. Rooted in Mennonite traditions of service, compassion, and community, the organization has operated for decades with a residents-first philosophy that places dignity, respect, and relational care at the centre of decision-making. This legacy continues to shape how Leamington Mennonite Home plans, governs, and delivers services across its full continuum of housing and care, ensuring that operational and financial choices remain closely aligned with its mission.

Today, Leamington Mennonite Home serves more than 273 residents through a diverse range of housing and care options, including long-term care, assisted living and retirement living, independent condominiums, apartments, and townhomes. Operating across this continuum provides the organization with a comprehensive view of aging, recognizing that seniors’ needs evolve over time and that housing stability is closely linked to health, well-being, and social connection. This integrated model supports aging in place by allowing residents to access different levels of care within a familiar community, reducing disruption and reinforcing a sense of belonging as needs change.

The demand for such models is growing. Like many communities in Ontario, Leamington is experiencing demographic shifts associated with an aging population. Government and academic research consistently show that seniors benefit from housing that combines affordability, accessibility, and proximity to care and social supports. At the same time, much of Canada’s seniors’ housing stock is aging, presenting challenges related to building condition, accessibility standards, and operational sustainability. Older facilities, while often deeply valued by residents and communities, can struggle to meet contemporary expectations for safety, comfort, and efficiency without significant reinvestment.

Leamington Mennonite Home’s assisted living and retirement building, now 60 years old, reflects these broader trends. Six decades of continuous use have provided valuable insight into how seniors live, what supports are most effective, and how the built environment influences quality of life. Lessons learned over this period are informing the organization’s approach to redevelopment, including the importance of adaptable design, shared and private spaces that support community, and infrastructure that can respond to changing care needs over time.

As the organization prepares to replace this building, maintaining affordability while sustaining high-quality, mission-aligned care remains a central concern. Rising construction costs, regulatory requirements, and operating expenses pose real challenges for not-for-profit seniors’ housing providers. Leamington Mennonite Home is approaching this moment with an emphasis on careful financial stewardship, seeking ways to modernize infrastructure without compromising access or shifting costs onto residents in ways that would undermine its residents-first philosophy.

Through participation in the SPRE National Accelerator, the organization is developing tools to support this balance. Work underway includes the creation of a mission-aligned funding playbook, exploration of financing mechanisms and partnerships, and the development of a ten-year pro forma that reflects both actual costs and long-term reserve needs. These efforts are intended to strengthen the organization’s capacity to plan strategically, assess trade-offs transparently, and make decisions that support long-term operational sustainability.

In parallel, Leamington Mennonite Home is working toward a clear priorities framework and capacity plan to guide redevelopment and future growth. These tools support disciplined decision-making by aligning capital investments, service delivery, and organizational capacity with core values. By grounding redevelopment in both financial analysis and mission-driven principles, the organization aims to ensure that future housing remains affordable, resilient, and responsive to residents’ needs.

Looking ahead, Leamington Mennonite Home envisions a renewed assisted living and retirement environment that reflects its historic commitment to compassionate care while meeting contemporary standards for seniors’ housing. The planned redevelopment represents an opportunity to reaffirm the organization’s role as a community anchor for older adults in Leamington. Through this work, Leamington Mennonite Home seeks to continue offering a place where seniors can live with dignity, security, and connection.