Sault city council to receive update on former hospital site

The Sault Ste. Marie city council will be receiving a report on a derelict property in the downtown area at its next meeting. The report by the city’s solicitor and chief building official outlines some options for council’s consideration pertaining to the former General Hospital site, which has been vacant for some time.

Councillor Luke Dufour, who represents the ward where the former hospital site is located, said he and his ward mate, Councillor Lisa Vezeau-Allen, have frequently spoken with area residents about their concerns related to the state of the building.

“The security of the property in question, the smells, the odours, the constant broken windows, traffic coming through, different areas where the place was being unlawfully occupied,” said Dufour.

In a statement to CTV News, Vezeau-Allen said she is hoping the city can find some resolution to this issues, adding the waterfront property should not be left in the state it’s in.

Councillor Sonny Spina, who had asked for a report on the former hospital property, has the distinction of having actually been inside the structure.

“I was inside that building when I worked for the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service and I can tell you it is in terrible condition inside,” he said.

“It is not safe to be inside there, I was not comfortable being inside there.”

Dufour said the cost of maintaining the status quo should be considered along with the options presented by city staff, which includes demolition at a cost of around $6 million.

“You have lost tax revenue, you have lost quality of life for area residents, you have decreased assessment value around that building,” said Dufour.

“The status quo has a significant cost to the City.”

Spina said he agrees with Dufour’s conclusions.

“I know that from police services alone in the last five years there’s been about 200 calls for service to this building and this property in particular,” added Spina.

“That comes at a big cost to the tax payers here in Sault Ste. Marie.”

In a letter to council, the company that owns the former hospital site, Heritage Community Living at Lakeview Inc., stated they remain committed to the property. They said they have contracted security to monitor the site and regularly dispatch contractors to deal with issues of security and maintenance.