Housing and medical care buildings eyed for Chedoke Hospital lands

Nearly 26 acres of land from the former Chedoke Hospital on the west Mountain has been sold for a housing development and medical care facilities.

A total of 18 acres will go to a partnership of Starward Homes and Marz Homes for an undisclosed price as part of a deal that will also see land developed for health care at existing buildings as well as new structures.

Ward Campbell, the president of Starward, said the housing development will involve a variety of different housing styles.

And first on the agenda is evaluating whether existing buildings on the property off Sanatorium Road and Chedmac Drive can be repurposed for housing.

Campbell said it’s not clear how many homes will be built but said it would be in the hundreds.

“Right now, we are really just working on our options ... we’re going through a variety of different scenarios to see what makes the most sense. It will be primarily residential with some kind of mixture of town houses and likely some condominiums as well.”

Bay Area Health Trust is the seller in the transaction. The trust is an organization that looks for business opportunities to generate profits to be used to support health care and health-care research.

“We had a number of objectives in mind when deciding to sell the land,” says BAHT president and CEO Gary Wade. “We wanted to achieve appropriate value from knowledgeable and deeply experienced developers, and see the land used in ways that complement what is already in the surrounding neighbourhood.”

Wade would not disclose any selling prices. The package of land will also see: 1.3 acres will go to the Thrive Group, which owns St. Peter’s Residence at Chedoke. The group is planning to build a home for seniors.

Five acres will go to a company owned by family doctor Dr. Allen Greenspoon. That company already owns the Osler building, and, with the land purchase, will also own the Evel and Ewart buildings. Dr. Greenspoon could not be reached for comment.

Coun. Terry Whitehead, who represents Ward 8 on the Mountain, said the deal breaks a previous commitment to keep 25 acres of the lands dedicated to health care. Whitehead also said he believes some profits from the sale should be put toward paying for an urgent care facility on the south Mountain because of the growing population and distance to other emergency services in the city.

“I’m not suggesting for a moment that the money is not going into good causes ... But we still need an urgent care facility.”

As well, Whitehead said he feels adding hundreds of residents to the area will have a negative impact on traffic flow in the area.

We’re going through a variety of different scenarios . . WARD CAMPBELL STARWARD HOMES PRESIDENT