CORRECTION: This article has been updated to accurately reflect the context and intention of comments from Ron Simkus regarding 176 Wellington St.’s history as a former hospital and Simkus’ views on its future use.
The future of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s former hospital site is back on the table — and the Town of NOTL is asking residents what should become of the old building.
The town purchased the property at 176 Wellington St., once home to a hospital, nurses’ residence, hospice and medical office space, from Niagara Health in 2018 for about $3.4 million, according to a June 27 news release.
Now, the town is starting a new round of public engagement, beginning next week, online and in person, to hear what the community wants to see happen next with the building.
Findings will be presented to council in December.
“The goal is to gather a wide range of perspectives,” said Lauren Kruitbosch, associate director of the office of the CAO, in an email.
A November town release said $85,000 from parking revenue was approved to support the engagement process, which follows council’s 2022–2027 strategic plan.
Residents and stakeholders will be invited the week of July 7 to complete an online survey, submit ideas through the town’s Join the Conversation platform and take part in interactive community mapping at the community centre, where participants will be able to mark physical display maps and answer questions. Exact dates are to be determined.
A second round of engagement will take place between July and September, including community walks around the site and small-group workshops for partner organizations and key stakeholders.
Kruitbosch said the workshops will not be open to the general public but will allow targeted discussion of specific ideas and needs.
Consultants will lead the community walks, asking questions and encouraging informal conversations about current uses, challenges and future opportunities for the site.
In October, the town will host three public information centres, open to all residents. Consultants will update them on what they’ve heard so far during the process and gather more feedback.
Kruitbosch said these sessions are “to confirm themes, test ideas and gather additional input.”
“A critical step in ensuring community voices are reflected in the final presentation to council.”
Council members will determine what they see as the community’s top needs when the final report of findings goes to council at the end of the year, said Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa.
Zalepa encouraged residents to participate however they can, online or in person, and said all feedback will help guide next steps in a way that best serves the community.
“So council can hear the whole picture, right?” he said.
Zalepa doesn’t plan to share his ideas for the site’s future at this point. When asked if he has any in mind, he said he does, but doesn’t want to “influence the process.”
“I really want to hear what people think,” he said. “I’m really certain some of the things that I have in my mind are going to come up forward.”
One possibility, however, is already off the table: a hospital.
“The hospital system, Niagara Health, is not interested in doing a hospital there,” he said. “So, it’s not going to be a hospital.”
For Ron Simkus, one of the directors of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Residents Association, the old hospital was once a major draw — but he acknowledges those days are likely over.
“When we moved here in 2009, it was a hospital,” said Simkus. “(It) was a tremendous attraction.”
But he believes the era of small-town hospitals has passed. Still, with medical and educational facilities disappearing, he said there are fewer reasons for people to live in NOTL full-time.
And if institutional use is ruled out for the site, that “will pretty well close the book on all the institutional properties left in the town of NOTL,” he said, adding that preserving them is essential to the town’s long-term future.
“Because otherwise, there’s no place for people to converge,” he said.
“Essentially, you’re displacing the old-time residents with part-time visitors and the appearance of a heritage town.”
Zalepa said the community has tried to start this process of figuring out what to do with the site before, but “there were a few stumbling blocks.”
“I think, what we’re going to try to do is learn from that,” he said, adding the feedback will be key when the town seeks out partners in redeveloping the site.
“We’ll have a clear sense of what we want to accept or not,” said Zalepa.
NOTL resident Robin Ridesic said ideas have been submitted to the town in previous years, including one from the Niagara Creative Cultural Community Hub for a shared space for charities and community groups, or a “creative and cultural hub.”
Other submissions have included commercial and residential proposals from various developers, she said.
“It’s critically important for us to preserve our very limited number of community-use properties,” said Ridesic, adding doing so will help sustain the town’s vibrancy.
But as of now, the site is partially rented to Royal Oak Community School, a massage therapist and a telecommunications tower, according to a November staff report. The property also has a working ambulance station used by Niagara Regional EMS.
According to the town’s 2017 official plan, the site is zoned for public or institutional use and is intended for parks or community buildings. But council may consider changing that based on community feedback.
Simkus said the residents association hasn’t reviewed the proposals in depth or landed on a position yet, since its priorities often shift from issue to issue.
“The one today is the Royal George.”
But the association “absolutely” plans to participate in the consultation process, he said.
“It’s really important to us what happens to that hospital site,” he said. “I think there’s going to be a lot of interest to provide input.”
