With a crew seen at work at the old hospital property on Paris Street and signs indicating “danger due to demolition,” the long-vacant Sudbury building appears to be coming down soon.
A worker on site who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the property’s ownership at Panoramic Properties told Sudbury.com that the building is being demolished this weekend.
Sudbury.com reached out to Panoramic Properties for comment by both phone and email this week but have not received a response.
This story will be updated in the event a response is received. However, with Panoramic Properties representatives maintaining a clearly defined pattern of declining to answer questions, this appears unlikely.
Panoramic Properties has owned the property since 2010, and the building has remained vacant ever since, drawing regular criticism from members of the public.
In 2019, Canada’s largest mural was painted on the west-facing side of the building, but as Up Here Festival staff have since clarified, it was only meant to be temporary due to plans for the building to be torn down, which was from their understanding to be within a year.
“Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves as disheartened as everyone by the lack of progress on the part of the property owners,” Up Here Festival staff wrote in a letter to the editor published in June 2023. “We yearn for the old hospital to undergo a metamorphosis, to be revitalized and reintegrated into the fabric of our community.”
Last year, city council added a financial incentive for Panoramic Properties to tear down the long-vacant structure, approving $1.7 million in incentives toward the company’s redevelopment of the Scotia Tower building in downtown Sudbury, but only if they also tear down the long-vacant hospital building.
In November 2024, city council greenlit Panoramic Properties’ plan to develop 530 residential units on the old hospital property site, which will require them to tear down the existing structure.
On May 17 of this year, the body of a 24-year-old man was found on the property, and on May 21 a suspicious fire broke out in the building.
The day after the fire, Mayor Paul Lefebvre hosted a media conference at city hall at which he called for Panoramic Properties to take “immediate, urgent action” to tear down the old hospital, referring to the risk to public safety it poses as “unacceptable.”
Sudbury.com has also reached out to city communications staff and Lefebvre’s office for comment and will update this story in the event additional information is provided.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com
