A plan to regreen the former parking lot at the former St. Joseph's Health Centre will be added to the list of projects the city try to fund as it seeks to freeze taxes this year.
The plan would cost about $950,000 and would tear up the concrete and asphalt beside the former hospital and replace it with vegetation and walking trails.
The property is on land donated by the Bell Family in 1926, totaling about 145 acres, with the condition it be used only as parkland for residents to enjoy. The Sisters of St. Joseph acquired the northern half of the hospital property — about seven acres -- from the Stafford family in 1944. The Bell family gave the southern portion of where the hospital now sits to the city in 1944, who then gave the land to the sisters in 1945 to build the hospital.
The hospital closed five years ago when Sudbury amalgamated its hospitals into one site, and a developer is building luxury condos in the former St. Joe's building. The adjacent parking lot has been used by Health Sciences North staff until it could acquire land to build a lot onsite.
That was completed in October last year, when HSN bought land from the Idylwylde Golf and Country Club, leaving the former parking lot available for regreening.
Architects Louis Bélanger and Amber Salach, of Yallowega Bélanger Architecture, outlined the proposal Tuesday at a meeting of the city's community services committee.
Bélanger said their plan was “a total regreening of the zone.” And the high elevation of the area would offer residents a great view of the lake and the park.
“It's a great opportunity for an environmental statement for the park,” he said.
The development would include connected trails, a lookout, natural gardens and vegetation, he said.
The proposal is park of a much bigger vision to redevelop the park, including plans to reroute a section of Paris Street so visitors won't have to cross the street, a chronic safety concern. But the full project comes with a pricetag of $20 million.
Ward 5 Coun. Bob Kirwan said it's difficult to imagine the city having that sort of money to spend.
“It's a beautiful concept,” Kirwan said. “I have a lot of difficulty with the concept where we start committing this kind of money to this type of project … I'm just not comfortable committing to a $20-million project at this time.”
And Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier questioned the level of public input into the plan, with only a couple hundred people taking part in public and online feedback.
“I don't find that extensive,” Cormier said.
But Catherine Matheson, the city's general manger of community development, said councillors weren't committing to the full project – just the $950,000 for regreening the parking lot. And even approving that would only mean it would become an option for this year's budget.
Ward 8 Coun. Al Sizer said it would just be the first step toward realizing the much bigger vision.
“It would be lovely to have it all completed,” Sizer said. “And no, we're not going to do this tomorrow. But we have to plan for tomorrow.”
The committee approved the proposal, with a final decision expected when the 2015 budget is approved in late February or early March.
