Remember back in December, when heavy demolition equipment arrived at the old hospital site downtown?
Five months later, that heavy equipment is still there — and so is the building.
Did something go wrong? Shouldn’t demolition have started by now?
We asked Mayor Matthew Shoemaker those questions when he stopped by our SooToday studio this week. He acknowledged that the process “has taken way longer than I think we all expected it to,” but that he’s “confident” the sale of the property will close soon.
“The saying is that the devil's in the details,” Shoemaker said. “The devil has been in the details in this deal, and making sure that all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed is taking more time than I'd like it to. But I think that we'll get to a point, hopefully in the coming weeks, month, or whatever it is, where the deal closes and then they can start demolition.”
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In a controversial move, city council voted last October to spend $4.75 million to purchase the former General Hospital site and the neighbouring renal building. At that point, the derelict waterfront property had been empty for 13 years, with city staff locked in near-constant legal battles with the out-of-town owner over keeping the eyesore properly secured and maintained.
Shoemaker defended the purchase, arguing the city would recoup that investment — and more — over the next decade by reselling the property to a developer and collecting property taxes from whatever is built there.
One month later, in November 2024, city council agreed to a deal that would see Green Infrastructure Partners (GIP) take possession of the old General Hospital building, and the adjacent waterfront lot at 10 Lucy Terrace, for $1 each — on the condition that the buyer pays to tear down the building. At the time, GIP committed to begin demolition between 30 and 45 days after the sale closed.
As part of the deal, Ruscio Construction would pay $2 million for the former renal unit, with plans to redevelop it into apartments.
That was six months ago. The sale still hasn’t closed.
“I'm confident that it will,” Shoemaker said. “They have been working inside. They're clearing the interior of the building to prepare it for demolition…City staff is in constant communication. I'm not involved in the actual negotiation of it, but at least twice a week, I think the staff is communicating with both entities.”
You can watch the mayor's full interview HERE.
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