Woodstock is in the process of studying a future use for
the site of the closed Riddell Street hospital. The likely use will be low- and
medium-density residential.
In November of 2011, Woodstock and Oxford County finally
received its brand new hospital when patients began arriving at the Juliana
Street facility. Great news for everyone in Woodstock.
Down the road in London, the story is a little different
as massive additions at Victoria Hospital on Commissioners Road, improvements to
University Hospital on the Western campus, and an entire gradual new look to St
Joseph’s hospital, has created a gigantic empty former hospital on South
Street. The wrecking ball is pending for February for this so-called So-Ho
neighbourhood structure which dates back as old as 138 years.
A public meeting on Wednesday, Jan 30 (tomorrow) is the
last chance to walk through this historic healthcare facility.
By Chip Martin, The London Free Press
January 23, 2013
LONDON -- Watershed moments for the old South St. campus
of Victoria Hospital will occur just two days apart next week.
On Jan. 30, the public will be invited inside the
venerable main building for one last time to attend a planning workshop aimed
at coming up with a plan to chart the future of the hospital block and seven or
eight surrounding blocks.
Two days later, the first steps to demolish the nearly
138-year-old London institution begin.
By the end of the year, the roughly $15-million job
should be done and the land allocated for a hospital in 1874 will revert to
city ownership.
The demolition covers buildings on the south side of
South St. A few of the buildings in the hospital complex will be spared,
particularly the Colborne building and War Memorial Children’s Hospital on the
north side. The city hopes to find a new use for the heritage properties.
The province is picking up the lion’s share of the cost.
Contribution from the hospital and more than $3 million
from the city will also cover the demolition costs . Precise details of the
cost-sharing are confidential and still under discussion between the city and
London Health Sciences Centre.
“We are hoping to create a great new urban neighbourhood
for London,” city planner John Fleming said Wednesday.
The city prepared a “community improvement plan” for the
SoHo area that called for development of a specific “secondary” plan for the
hospital area blocks. They include one immediately west of the hospital land
where Fincore Canada is proposing two 26-storey towers in a “wellness centre.”
Fleming said the plan will boost downtown revitalization
and help the core reconnect with the Thames.
On Feb. 1, the steps will start toward demolition but
passersby will see little until March or April.
Community planner Jim Yanchula said the community has
high hopes about the future of their neighbourhood with redevelopment.
It is ironic the last time the public is allowed into the
building is on the eve of demolition and a new start for the area.
“I know the people in the immediate vicinity in SoHo have
high expectations that the redevelopment of the property will implement the
general directions set out in the SoHo community improvement plan (adopted in
June of 2011),” he said.
“Residents will see improved access to the river’s edge,
new corridors, new development that sets the tone for future rehabilitation of
the lands and preservation of those parts of heritage that are important.”
Yanchula said because the area is relatively small, he
expects the secondary plan for the hospital and its environs could be ready by
late May or early June.
- - -
CHRONOLOGY
Aug. 5, 1875: London General Hospital opens on
Ottoway Ave., now South St. with two floors and 56 beds
1899: An expanded hospital opens called Victoria
Hospital
1939: old hospital building demolished to make way
for new, bigger facility
1941: North Wing opens
1954: Y wing opens
1967: Middlesex Wing opens
Feb. 26, 1997: Ontario’s Health Services
Restructuring Commission orders closing of South Street
June 1999: City council commits $15 million to
hospital for restructuring after hospital promised to pay for demolition of
South Street, a promise it later broke.
July 1999: Move of services begins from South
Street to University, Victoria and St. Joseph’s hospitals. .
June 12, 2005: LHSC moves 145 patients and 180
beds, taking seven hours, 2,500 staff members and 300 trucks of hospital
equipment to complete on of the largest single-day hospital moves in North
America.
April 2011: Mental health care program moved to
Victoria Hospital, leaving only some outpatient units at South Street
September 2011: In the midst of an Ontario
election London MPP Deb Matthews says province will foot $15 million bill for
demolition costs, ending years of dispute between the city, the province and
the hospital.
--Jonathan Sher
- - -
IF YOU GO
What: Workshop sessions with city planners and
consultants on developing the Old Victoria Hospital secondary plan to guide
development of the site and eight blocks around it.
When: Jan. 30, 7 p.m.
Where: Room C240, The Busby Room, second floor,
main Victoria Hospital building, 375 South St.
In the midst of an Ontario election medical Autoclave London MPP Deb Matthews says province will foot $15 million bill for demolition costs,
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