Exterior of the Sunnyside Home building in Kitchener on a sunny day. Share this article on:

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Rebuilding Sunnyside Home was a big investment in caring community3 min read

Jun 28, 2023 3 min

Rebuilding Sunnyside Home was a big investment in caring community3 min read

Reading Time: 3 minutes

There’s only one Sunnyside Home. It’s a caring community where every person can live their best life. It’s been a supportive home for folks in Waterloo Region for many generations.  It’s also the only local long-term care home owned and run by the Region of Waterloo.

This facility has a long history dating to the 19th century, when it was known as the “Waterloo County House of Industry and Refuge.” Back in 1869, it housed community members who could not support themselves and included people of all ages.

Of course, things have changed a lot since then. In 1956, the home moved to Franklin Street and soon became known as Sunnyside Home. This “home for the aged” had more comforts and amenities than many other similar places at the time.

But eventually the time came for another big change. The Region of Waterloo demolished and rebuilt the entire building between 2000 and 2004, creating a new long-term care home for 263 residents. It was a big investment, and one Regional Council felt was important to ensure a dignified home.

Drag to look through this photo gallery:

Exterior of the Sunnyside Home building in Kitchener on a sunny day.

You can read the full story of how the Region of Waterloo rebuilt an aging Sunnyside Home on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The Sunnyside story is just one of 50 Region of Waterloo milestones we’re highlighting this year. Why? Because our community reached an important anniversary in 2023 – we turned 50! In 1973, our current Region of Waterloo municipality was formed. The anniversary is a chance to look back at where we’ve come from, celebrate how far we’ve come, and look ahead to where we’re going.

Check out these other recent milestone stories:

  • What to do with all our waste? Learn how things have changed since Region of Waterloo began managing our community’s landfills in 1973 (read it on Twitter and Facebook)
  • Four years ago, our ION light rail transit system launched in June 2019. We’ve now passed 13 million total rides! This ambitious project has created boomed development and vibrancy around the ION tracks (read it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram)