The two former North Bay hospital sites have been sold, pending approval by the provincial government and the the local health integrated network.
The North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) board accepted the offer of purchase of $5,000 for the Scollard and McLaren sites from a numbered company consisting of a group of developers from Northern Ontario. The two sites have been on the market for more than 13 months.
“While selling these properties for $5,000 sounds like a small amount, we actually budgeted to break even on the sale of the properties,” said NBRHC President and CEO Mark Hurst. “So this offer, along with the earlier sale of the Nipissing Building and Cooper House, means the hospital is ahead by over $1M on the sale of all of the former hospital properties.”
According to a press release, the purchasers plan to proceed quickly with the demolition of the main hospital buildings and move forward with development of the properties with projects that will complement the neighbourhood, including an assisted living centre.
“Use of these properties falls under city bylaws and regulations and any possible changes to the zoning of these institutional properties will need to follow the city’s process for approval,” said NBRHC Chair Phil Geden.
If the sale did not go through, the hospital would have to begin the process of demolishing the buildings at a possible cost of between $3 million and $4 million, money it would rather have to spend on patient care. If the sale is approved, the hospital also saves over $1 million annually — the cost of providing security, insurance and minimal heating of the buildings.
The Nipissing Building at 685 Bloem Street and the Cooper House at 753 McLaren were sold in November to Eastview Development Ltd.
The North Bay properties used by the former Northeast Mental Health Centre belong to the Government of Ontario and fall under the responsibility of the Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation.
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