CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Plans for a new Hillsborough Hospital in Charlottetown have taken a step forward.
City council recently gave the green light to send the rezoning process to the public consultation phase.
It’s an ambitious plan that not only involves building a new two-storey mental health and addiction acute care facility but creating a campus that will take close to 100 acres of space.
“It’s a great project for the city, for the province (and) for mental health on Prince Edward Island," said Mayor Philip Brown.
There are four components to this plan that include public social safety and structural housing, social housing and extended care housing for addiction recovery and mixed-use development that will include 10 additional buildings, which would be a mix of residential and commercial uses.
The plan
Following are the four components of the province’s Hillsborough master plan:
- Two-storey mental health and addictions acute care facility/life skills centre to replace the Hillsborough Hospital: It will include specialized long-term treatment and rehabilitation. The new facility will have space for life skills training and a community gymnasium.
- Public social safety and structured housing: The province has a number of clients requiring a supportive, high structured, living environment. Two buildings will address residential accommodations for eight individuals with day programming space for up to 12 additional clients.
- Social housing/extended care housing for addictions recovery: Designed for people transitioning from inpatient detoxification/transition to community-based service and supports for those trying to maintain a substance-free life.
- Mixed-use development: This could include things like pedestrian activity in the parks and trails, waterfront park investment, possible retail uses and active streetscapes. The project could accommodate up to 10 buildings for multi-use residential uses.
The property around Hillsborough Hospital currently includes a variety of zones, from institutional to multi-use corridor. The intent is to consolidate the property under comprehensive development area (CDA), which allows the city more opportunity to co-operate with the province in how the property is developed.
The land also contains a historical component. It’s the site of the former Falconwood Hospital. Former prime minister John A. Macdonald recovered there in 1870 following a gallstone attack.
The plan is also to transform the site from a stigmatized institutional parcel of land to a more community-integrated, interconnected, destigmatized campus, which will include the use of trails that run parallel to Murchison Lane, the street that runs by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital all the way down to Acadian Drive.
The city’s planning department does have one concern with the current plan.
The parking lot and loading bays for the new mental health and addictions facility face the water.
City planners would like all waterfront properties facing the water for esthetic purposes.
However, Brown cautioned the project is only at the conceptual phase and discussion will be part of a future public meeting.
Coun. Terry Bernard recently raised concerns about public meetings.
Under current health restrictions, it’s almost impossible to have a public meeting of any significant size.
Brown suggested using Cody Banks Arena as a meeting location, surmising the city could place 50 chairs inside the arena and space them six feet apart. Speakers at the meeting would use a separate entrance and exit from the public. The meeting would also be streamed online.
The public meeting will be held once the city can figure out how to host the meeting while following the health guidelines.
The current government announced last year it wants to expedite a five-year, $100-million plan to improve mental health.
Public meeting status
The following is the latest information from the City of Charlottetown as it pertains to public meetings:
- The city continues to follow the process under the planning act while trying to adhere to restrictions and guidelines put in place by the public health office.
- On items where city seeks public consultation, the public can follow the normal process for accessing information, such as contacting the planning department or visiting the city's website.
- The public can also write, email or mail, and call the planning department with comments.
- The public can also participate in a number of ways such as calling in, video conferencing and watching via live stream.
