New ideas can revive historic buildings

The biggest redevelopment project in Peterborough’s history will convert landmark space that sat vacant for nearly four years into more than 225 apartments and add a new building.

We can say “will” because what was once St. Joseph’s Hospital is now entering the third of six phases of its resuscitation.

TVM Group, a Toronto firm that specializes in redeveloping large older buildings, has already created 99 apartments in a former nurse’s residence and one section of the main hospital structure.

On Monday, city council is expected to give the go-ahead to its Phase 3, 33 apartments in a five-storey section.

It hasn’t been a quick turnaround. St. Joseph’s was made redundant by the new Peterborough Regional Health Centre nine years ago. TVM bought it a year later and took another three years to finalize and unveil its redevelopment plan.

The company is behind on its four-year schedule to wrap up the entire project but progress has been steady.

That’s something to keep in mind as the clock ticks toward next year’s closure of the bulk of GE Peterborough’s sprawling Park St. plant.

There are doubters over what can be done with the GE building. That was also true of St. Joseph’s. It didn’t have the same industrial contaminant issues but concerns over asbestos in the walls and the ability of the local market to absorb more than 200,000 sq. ft. of space led to suggestions that redevelopment was just too difficult.

TVM saw past those concerns. A company official said converting older buildings can be expensive and time-consuming but the end result is usually a better quality structure, preservation of a community’s character and identity, and profitability.

John Stephenson, president of the Ontario Association of Architects, delivered the same message this week in reference to the GE buildings. He noted that an entire industry has developed around the re-use of contaminated “brownfield” sites and all sorts of innovative techniques are available.

He also referred to working as a young architect on an addition to Peterborough’s historic downtown YMCA. The Y, like St. Joseph’s, eventually closed. It has been vacant for 10 years and gone through a series of failed redevelopment proposals. Now it appears a developer has hit the right formula and work is about to begin.

The GE site is a more complex challenge but has the potential for more varied solutions. Any mix of commercial, office, industrial, research, studio or residential space should be possible.

Its rebirth will likely come in stages over a decade or two and require forward thinking from regulators, including city council, and the development industry.

As with St. Joseph’s and the YMCA, GE represents a long-term opportunity. Recent history indicates it will be converted.