Niagara-on-the-Lake’s old hospital site might become a one-stop hub for everything from condos and a pool to high-tech health services.
Founder and president of RegenaLife Dr. Nick Vaccaro is the developer and driving force behind the proposal: “Wellness Estates,” a town-owned site envisioned as a commercial and condominium complex combining medical facilities, residential units and community amenities.
Vaccaro outlined the plan for 176 Wellington St. during an Aug. 14 public information and education session at the NOTL community centre.
The proposal includes a gym with rehab, Pilates and yoga space, a swimming pool, retail spaces, residential condominiums, MRI and CT imaging, ultrasound and X-ray services, private surgical facilities, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a dental clinic, the RegenaLife longevity and health optimization centre, guest suites, a dining room and a medical clinic.
Artificial-intelligence-powered diagnostics and imaging, a “healing arts center” in partnership with the NOTL Pumphouse and 450 underground parking spots are being considered as well.
The proposed builder is Gatta Homes.
“I truly believe that this is the singular best thing that can be done for that site,” Vaccaro told The Lake Report.
“This would continue the legacy so nicely and it would service the community so well.”
He said the project would fill a growing local need for in-town housing and health services while attracting medical tourism — bringing people to NOTL year-round, not just for tourism season.
Although a date mix-up in an advertisement resulted in a smaller turnout than he had hoped for, Vaccaro said the session went well overall and that residents asked thoughtful questions.
He’s now waiting for additional public input, he said, which will include responses to the feedback survey sent to those registered for the session.
After Vaccaro’s presentation, residents lined up to ask questions and raise concerns.
Questions came from residents, newcomers and from the founder of the Exchange Brewery, Robin Ridesic.
The Lake Report had some to ask, too.
One question, raised by Julia Buxton-Cox (and echoed by another resident), centred on his other clinical-residential development, Wellness Suites in Niagara Falls, completed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A quick search using AI here today tells us that the residents at your Niagara Falls facility are not happy,” said Buxton-Cox.
“No pool, no rooftop patio — they didn’t get what they were promised.”
Vaccaro pushed back: “Have you ever tried to build anything during COVID? Not an easy task,” he said, adding construction of Wellness Suites was disrupted by delayed timelines.
But the project was ultimately completed and is now fully operational, he said.
“It was an early prototype of a concept,” he said, adding artificial-intelligence tools, now being proposed, weren’t available then. He did not specify why those tools might have helped at the time.
Whether or not he had engaged with council at any point during the process was also on Buxton-Cox’s mind.
Council approved Vaccaro’s 176-page proposal in 2021 and Vaccaro said he has had casual discussions about it in the years since.
“But there’s been no formal engagement,” he said.
Responding to Vaccaro’s sentiment that he “would love the opportunity to do so,” Buxton-Cox said all it takes is applying to make a presentation.
But Vaccaro is unsure whether approaching council is the proper procedure, he said in the interview.
“The political climate is so tense in NOTL. I don’t want to cause any waves in any shape or form,” he said.
Although Gatta Homes built Buxton-Cox’s own home, which she said she loves, she questions its experience with projects of this scale.
“I will make sure that the contracts for all the people and all the trades are all done very efficiently,” said Vaccaro.
“I feel very confident that, once the infrastructure is up, Gatta Homes will make this the most elegant building in the country.”
Ridesic — who said she was speaking as a resident, not a business founder — acknowledged community interest in more housing and medical services, but stressed the old hospital site is one of the town’s few remaining properties zoned for community facilities.
“Our community is guarding our extremely limited supply of community facilities-zoned properties, so that our non-profit organizations — ‘not for profit’ organizations — can deliver services to our community and we can ensure those sites are protected,” she said.
The reason why this proposal was designed for this site, Vaccaro said, “is because the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake asked for it in 2021.”
While it isn’t the only possible location, he said it is an ideal one.
“Will there be other sites considered? Possibly. Right now, I’m not looking at any other sites,” he said.
The Lake Report asked whether a wellness-focused development — with amenities like gyms and pools — could meet urgent needs in a crisis like COVID-19, or whether the absence of a fully equipped hospital would still leave the community vulnerable.
The project would be designed with pandemic lessons in mind, Vaccaro said: “My imagination has been expanded to plan for things like that.”
“There are many, many things that will be beneficial for all individuals if we were ever to run into a pandemic like that again,” he said.
“We can still have a community facility that will be safe for everyone to enter.”
When asked what risks or challenges might come with the project, he said much of that could be avoided through careful planning — including fully integrating the blueprints before construction begins so there are no unexpected design changes once construction is underway.
Any financial risk, he added, would be mitigated by pre-selling all units in advance.
And if anything does go wrong, an insurance company “that will bond the whole project will be there to take care of any potential ramifications,” he said.
Vaccaro said he could pick up the project and take it to places like Oakville or Toronto if need be, so The Lake Report asked whether the project was truly designed with NOTL in mind and whether its success depends on being located here.
There’s “pent-up demand for in-town condominiums that will provide these types of services” in NOTL, said Vaccaro in the interview.
“It would service the community so well,” he said, while acknowledging the concept could be replicated in other communities as well.
Vaccaro said it’s now up to the community and council to decide which proposal delivers the best value for the town.
“If they make an objective opinion — that’s all I could ask for,” he said.
