Plans for a new hospital in Markdale are inching closer to reality.
“We are looking forward to being able to move forward with the next phase in the approval process,” said Kim Wingrove, CAO for Grey County.
Last week, Grey County passed a critical bylaw that would see the county transfer the future site of the hospital – a parcel of land to the west of Grey Gables long-term care facility in Markdale – to Grey Bruce Health Services (GBHS).
“This is a really positive day for Grey County and GBHS,” said Wingrove. “It has been a long time, a lot of work and a lot of support has gone into making this transfer possible.”
The Markdale hospital project has been in the works for over a decade.
The land transfer was most recently discussed by county council at the Feb. 27 committee of the whole meeting.
“This is a critical piece and it gets us one step closer to actually get the land in the hands of GBHS so that Grey Highlands can issue the site plan approval and then get the building permits in-hand to start construction,” said Randy Scherzer, director of planning and development for Grey County.
Following the land transfer, Grey Highlands council took an additional step forward at its council meeting held on Wednesday, receiving the site plan agreement and authorizing the mayor and clerk to sign it in the coming weeks.
“Staff are learning that the timelines for the hospital have been significantly accelerated,” said Michael Benner, director of planning and development for Grey Highlands.
Benner added GBHS has also recently learned the project must be started in the 2020 calendar year to ensure that preferred contractors and funding sources are secured.
“The next steps will be finalizing the site plan and the site plan agreement before pulling building permits and putting the project out to tender,” he said.
Grey Highlands staff have been working with a consultant for the past three years in order to refine the site and serving plans.
In January, GBHS submitted a number of documents to the Ministry of Health, which included 300 detailed drawings that outlined the interior, exterior, mechanical workings, building materials and signage for the new facility.
The build is expected to cost $65 million and will take approximately two years to complete.
The finished product is projected to consist of: 68,000 square feet of space, four acute care beds, a palliative care room, a 24/7 emergency room with four exam and treatment areas, a laboratory, diagnostic imaging services, physiotherapy, space for ambulatory care clinics, and two ambulance bays.
“Things are really looking exciting here in terms of moving forward,” said Paul McQueen, warden of Grey County and mayor of Grey Highlands. “We are looking at setting things up somewhere in August and getting a contractor in place by this fall.”
