The Government of Ontario has officially announced their plan for the former Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital at 290 Fennell Ave West, just west of the St. Joseph’s Healthcare West 5th Campus.
The government is selling the former Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital lands through the Surplus Lands program, and the proceeds of the sale will then be used to develop two long-term care homes with 512 beds combined and over 1,000 new homes.
The Surplus Lands program allows for excess lands to be repurposed for specific uses such as housing, health care, or education.
Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, who serves as Ontario’s Minister of Long-Term Care, explained, “As our province continues to age, it is critical we protect Ontario and our seniors by building the long-term care capacity needed to meet increasing demand.”
“By selling unused provincial lands in the GTHA, we are finding innovative solutions where they are needed most. When the Hamilton site is fully developed, 512 long-term care residents will have a modern and comfortable place to call home,” she continued.
Plans for the property include two 256-bed long-term care homes, 832 market housing units, 270 seniors’ housing units, 41 affordable housing units, seven acres of land dedicated to Mohawk College, and seven acres of land for municipal conservation use.
Additionally, Century Manor, a local heritage building on the property, will be preserved and converted into housing by the well-known local affordable housing organization Indwell.
Meanwhile, the long-term care homes at the site will be operated by Schlegel Villages Inc.
The province says that using surplus lands to build new long-term care homes and housing is an “innovative approach” that “will help address the increasing demand for long-term care beds and housing in large urban areas, where available land is scarce and costly.”
Kinga Surma, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, added, “Our government is streamlining the process for selling underused provincial properties to save taxpayer dollars and accelerate the delivery of key infrastructure priorities, like building more housing and long-term care beds, and creating more jobs.”
The new long-term care homes are part of the Ontario government’s commitment to building 58,000 new and upgraded beds across the province.
So far, 148 projects representing a total of 24,101 new and redeveloped beds are completed, under construction, or have ministry approval to construct.
The Government of Ontario will also be launching a new construction funding support program to give long-term care operators and builders additional support.
Local Hamilton Members of Provincial Parliament Neil Lumsden (Hamilton East – Stoney Creek) and Monica Ciriello (Hamilton Mountain) also commented on the development.
Lumsden said, “Together with our local partners, we are building a stronger, healthier Hamilton for generations to come.”
Ciriello added, “These additional beds will make sure our seniors on Hamilton Mountain and across the City of Hamilton have the support and surroundings they deserve, close to the people and places they care about.”
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
