CORNWALL, Ontario – The transformation at the former Cornwall General Hospital has reached new heights – the place even has a different name.
Now being touted as The Care Centre, developers are on the cusp of realizing a plan to turn the longtime hospital into a one-stop shop that caters to health-care needs of local residents, in particular seniors.
Dan Orr and partner Matt Cinnamon own and operate the building following a $2-million purchase in May, 2014.
In an interview both men said agreements are being hammered out to bring tenants into the cavernous 214,000 square-foot facility.
The final touches are being put to leases concerning seniors residential units within The Care Centre, and professional spaces are also available on the commercial side. Between 50 and 100 residential units could be soon available.
Popularity is beginning to swell, and Orr said in some cases he and Cinnamon have had to turn potential tenants away – including an engineering firm that was interested in some space.
“We didn’t feel that was the best fit,” said Orr. “We certainly will have a health clinic here. In fact we have meetings coming up with doctors in the next few weeks.”
But the transformation hasn’t been without some challenges. The initial plan was to see some long-term care beds assigned to The Care Centre.
Orr concedes that won’t be happening now, as the province and Champlain Local Health Integration Network are not in a position to green-light the creation of new long-term care (LTC) beds.
“There’s no LTC beds available in Ontario,” he said. “We’ve tried to figure out ways to get LTC beds in Cornwall and we can’t disagree with the LHIN.”
And the work isn’t cheap. Seaway News reported earlier this year it could cost as much as $1 million to renovate the hospital building into a facility that could someday include services like hair dressers, massage therapists, psychologists and social workers, to name a few.
A social worker and a psychologist are already working out of The Care Centre, as is an office for Elder Abuse Ontario.
The renovation number climbs to as much as $2 million for the adjacent clinic building that will need new windows, HVAC and electrical systems before tenants can move in.
Cinnamon said the clinic building, while being cleaned out of unnecessary articles and refuse, still requires significant renovation work.
“There was a major clean-up. But construction hasn’t started yet,” he said.
The Care Centre is also reaching out to the community to create new partnerships. A four-person advisory committee has been struck to bridge the gap between community needs and the vision ownership has for The Care Centre.
“Building relationships is important,” said Manon Thompson, a member of the advisory committee.
Orr and Cinnamon have already met with local MP Guy Lauzon and MPP Jim McDonell, both of whom pledged to help The Care Centre as much as they can, the men agreed.
“We have been impressed with the people who have come to us and said ‘How can we help?'” said Cinnamon.
The next step in the evolution of The Care Centre will be to continue to fill available space and solidify partnerships. More information can be found by sending an email to info@thecarecentre.ca.
