The Municipality of Central Elgin last week approved the Final Policy Directions and Land Use Plan, along with the Official Plan Amendment for development of the former St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital lands.
And so, over the next couple of decades, a “complete, connected and sustainable community” will sprout on the 416-acre site, advised Central Elgin Mayor Andrew Sloan, following a public open house last October.
We sat down last week with Sloan to dig deeper into what he refers to as “a milestone.”
“So what it does is it provides a clear framework to move forward with community engagement on a draft official plan amendment,” stressed Sloan.
The province currently owns the land, and about 60 acres is being set aside for institutional use, including a possible expansion of the hospital and a school.
Sloan continued, “So the more narrow the road, the slower people go. A lot of the times parking is behind houses. How do you make them accessible to families? You have, essentially, a main street. You have walkable parks. You have recreation facilities. So, yeah, it’s a bit of a blank sheet on which to draw.”
We asked Sloan to elaborate on the heritage component.
With what will potentially be an entirely new community with a population in the neighbourhood of 7,000, it comes down to paying attention to myriad details.
Sloan added, “And one of the pieces that came up has been the need for a grocery store, so there will be commerce, there will be, as you say, a new development, a new community and by taking sort of a proactive approach and getting community feedback. You know, we want to do it right.
“We hear the developers now talking about the number of homes that have a suite in the basement with an outside access. And these are ways to make housing more affordable.
“And anything we can do to work on that, I think we’ll have a lot of interest in this development.”
Sloan refers to comments made by St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston as to the benefits from major financial investments in St. Thomas by international firms like PowerCo.
He continued, “It is going to be a generational change with all the development that’s coming. So we want to have our share and contribute what we can.
“This is our opportunity to be part of the bigger piece and to have the Central Elgin constituents share in some of the benefits from the investments that are coming.
And as I say, I think it gives us a chance to grow Central Elgin and have a sustainable plan going forward.”
According to information previously released by the municipality, this future community will:
- Provide a range of housing options to support affordability and meet provincial housing targets
- Create space for new residents and respond to population and housing pressures connected to regional job growth
- Support Central Elgin’s strategic goals of sustainability, affordability, and livability
- Include a vibrant main street, parks, community facilities, and cultural heritage features
As part of the planning process, heritage-related policies were updated, “To provide clearer guidance for conservation and commemoration, and to strengthen recognition of the site’s cultural and institutional history.”
Project information, engagement material and updates are available at https://letstalkcentralelgin.ca/ReimagineHospitalLands
There are a couple of open houses scheduled in the coming weeks:
A public open house will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 24, from 4 until 7 p.m. at the Masonic Centre of Elgin, 42703 Fruit Ridge Line.
A statutory public meeting will take place on Monday, March 2, from 6 until 8 p.m. at the Central Elgin council chambers, 450 Sunset Drive.
Written by Ian McCallum
