The designer behind theme parks such as Universal Studios Florida and Canada's Wonderland is bringing its flair for entertainment to an $800-million reimagining of St. Elizabeth Village.

But don't expect to see a roller-coaster winding through the Hamilton Mountain retirement community aimed at the 55-plus crowd.

Forrec has been hired to transform the 114-acre site into a themed lifestyle complex with a proposed town square, restaurants and shops at the corner of Garth Street and Rymal Road West that would be open to the public.

The idea to bring on an amusement park designer to revamp the gated community and give it a small-town atmosphere came to St. Elizabeth Village president Tony DiFruscio after South Mountain Inc. took over the property in 2014.

After working with residents to see how they could upgrade the more than 30-year-old village while preserving its "feel," he said his mind turned to Disney's BoardWalk, a quarter-mile district of shopping, dining and nightlife in Florida.

"I really love the concept of theme parks," said DiFruscio, who is also president of South Mountain Inc. "Not so much the … rides and things like that but those gathering areas."

Plans for the revamp started to take shape, including new four-storey buildings and remodelled townhouses in the residential portion of the property and more attention drawn to natural amenities like ponds and walking trails.

While it's still in the planning stages, DiFruscio said $800 million is the "high level" estimate for the project, which includes costs to design and construct new buildings, renovate existing buildings and for site servicing and landscaping.

The city's chief building official Ed VanderWindt, who was not previously aware of the redevelopment, said he couldn't think of a project of this magnitude in Hamilton.

Forrec was a natural fit for the project because of the company's work on The Villages in central Florida, three themed retirement communities inspired by small-town U.S.A.

Keeping to its Ontario roots, the St. Elizabeth redevelopment will be founded on a fictional storyline based on how local rural towns were developed.

"We're not taking you to Miami or San Francisco or London. We're taking you to Hamilton," said Forrec's executive vice-president, Steven Rhys. "But imagine what the legacy of that area was, so there's a bit of history to it, there's a bit of fantasy, there's a bit of story."

The made-up story goes that a merchant landed above the escarpment in the early 1800s and opened a gristmill. He set up shop for his family, and eventually so did others, after a tavern, small inn, shopping street and workshops came along.

The community's quaint way of life was preserved by a bypass redirecting traffic from the settlement constructed in the 1930s.

Renovations have already begun on the interior of some of the 558 existing townhouses on the property, and a design laying out their exteriors is complete.

The goal is to have the first exteriors revamped to match the theme within the next three months, DiFruscio said.

Planning has also started for mid-rise buildings, which DiFruscio hopes will be ready by next year.

This part of the complex will remain gated, and residents will still have access to some private amenities, including an indoor pool and bocce courts.

So far, studies have been undertaken to help determine exactly what will be included in the entertainment district and town square — potentially rebranded as St. Elizabeth Mills — which "optimistically" will be open by late 2017, DiFruscio said.

"You're not going to put people in that demographic out to pasture anymore," he said. "They're active, they're younger, they're healthier.

"I think these types of communities are the way of the future."

Ward Coun. Terry Whitehead has been briefed on the plans for St. Elizabeth Village, which he calls "exciting."

The fact that the complex will be themed is part of what Whitehead thinks will make it an attractive destination for community members who live outside of the complex to visit.

"The fact that it's going to give you a sense of time stopped, and it's a village atmosphere — you really don't have that expression or that experience anywhere on the Mountain," he said.

At this point, he said he doesn't see any "major barriers" with the project from a zoning or administrative perspective.

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Current number of residents: 900

Number of residents once the redesign is complete: 3,000

Number of employees at St. Elizabeth Village: 60

Buildings currently on the property: four-storey, 35,000-square-foot commercial/retail/office building; six-storey, 65,000-square-foot, 100-unit retirement residence; health and wellness centre with an indoor pool; clubhouse with a woodwork shop; 558 garden homes.