Windsor's Grace Hospital site: A 15-year long fiasco

Another brave new plan unveiled this week An ambitious new plan by Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) to create a mixed-use 650-unit housing and commercial development on the former Grace Hospital site was revealed by The Windsor Star on September 18, 2019. This is the newest in a years-long revolving door of proposals for the site on Windsor's University Avenue West.

“Neighbourhoods surrounding the former Grace hospital site, just west of downtown, have declined since the hospital disappeared 15 years ago, removing the epicentre of what was once a thriving community.” -- The Windsor Star, September 18, 2019

When in May 2019, the City of Windsor officially announced the Grace site was no longer earmarked for a Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) Urgent Care Centre (UCC), it called for alternate proposals. The HDGH project is one of six proposals the city received from May 6 - August 16, 2019. The other bidders have not yet been made public. Since the 250-bed Grace Hospital was shuttered for good in February 2004, the 6.5 acre site in Windsor's west end has been an ongoing symbol of what can go wrong if vision, transparency and due diligence are absent from the planning process. The Grace site has seen a series of well-publicized grand plans turn to dust. For almost a decade, the imposing structure stood boarded-up and decaying, while various developers came forward with new plans. Over time, area residents became the helpless victims of this growing eyesore, resulting in a loss of urban resilience and livability in the community.

The Grace site: A tangled history of proposed redevelopment 2004: Grace Hospital closed and a buyer found The 6.5-acre Grace hospital site, at the corner of Crawford Avenue and University Avenue West, closed in 2004. Its four buildings, with sections built as far back as 1918 and as recent as 1985, totalling about 290,000 square feet, were purchased by developer Lou Vozza for $800,000 later that same year. Under the project's original plans, it was expected to cost between $15 and $20 million for demolition, construction and interior fit-up costs. 2007: Grace Village Long-term care facility and mixed-use development In September 2007, Vozza, under the name L.V. Concorde Contracting, was awarded a contract by the Ministry of Health to build a 160-bed facility on the former hospital site. A Public-Private Partnership (P3) plan was developed to convert the former hospital.  Plans included five double duplexes to be built on the southern edge of the property, but that part of the project was put on hold due to unfavourable financial market conditions. In February 2009, Extendicare Canada Inc. backed out of building a 128-bed nursing home in LaSalle. The ministry awarded 96 additional beds to Vozza. 2011: Long-term care project terminated The community waited for the work to begin while the building rotted in plain sight. The province terminated the project in June 2011. Lawsuits and accusations followed. All the while, area residents were forced to live with the increasingly delapidated and vandalized site.

Photocredit: WindsoriteDOTca

2012: Out of town buyer found In August 2012, the Windsor Star reported that an out-of-town buyer had been found. Tony Battaglia, President of Westpark Developments, the holder of the largest mortgage on the property stated, “All I can say is the buyer has plans to redevelop the site. Verbal indications were they plan to start immediately.” The deal did not materialize.

2013: Greek Orthodox church and community centre In February 2013, then-mayor Eddie Francis promoted a proposal to build a multimillion-dollar Greek Orthodox church and community centre on the site. The local Greek community rejected the proposal.

Concept drawing of Greek Orthodox church and community centre.

2013: Demolition In April 2013, the building was finally demolished and replaced with a field of grass.

2015-2019: WRH UCC In July 2015, WRH announced (along with the new County Road 42 single site acute care hospital), the Grace site as the future home of a UCC. For those of you who follow this e-blast, you may wonder (as we do) why a billboard promoting this --- long after the project was officially axed --  still stands on the University Avenue property.

Photo of the billboard on the former Grace Hospital site, taken 3.00 p.m., September 19th, 2019. The sign, erected in July 2015, states: "Future home of the proposed urgent care centre/main satellite facility."

2019: HDGH affordable housing and senior residences HDGH (in conjunction with Amico Infrastructure) has tendered a proposal to the City of Windsor to build 650 condo and townhouse units geared to support seniors and those with long-term or chronic health needs. The plan also includes commercial and medical offices on the site. To date, publicly announced details are vague.

“[Janice Kaffer, HDGH CEO] said the response to the project, some two years in the planning, has been overwhelmingly positive.”        -- The Windsor Star, September 18, 2019

“This type of investment will help the whole neighbourhood to rise up. You will see businesses want to move there. It will be a huge draw. The best thing is this is a made-in-Windsor solution where we don’t have to look to Toronto or government for help. The solution is right here.” -- Brian Payne, HDGH Board Chair, The Windsor Star, September 18, 2019

Will the HDGH proposal be the one to FINALLY get built? The HDGH plan is terrific news, especially for Windsor West residents. Affordable housing is in short supply. Quality affordable housing is even more difficult to find. This is a forward-thinking idea. It's very welcome to those concerned about the lack of momementum elected (and unelected officials) have shown towards Windsor's revitalization. The former Grace site, one block from the riverfront and on existing public transit routes, will be an attractive place to live. There are many senior residences on or near Windsor's waterfront today - among the most desirable real estate in the entire city:

Map showing where the most seniors live in Windsor-Essex. 32% of Windsor's seniors live in the 12 areas depicted by red dots. These areas have the highest "senior population density" in all of Essex County.

Yet, if the HDGH plan goes forward, residents in this new development will be 14 - 18 km (depending on the route taken) from the County Road 42 single site acute care hospital location.  Without an acute care hospital nearby, why would the location of this laudable project be attractive to vulnerable populations -- seniors, persons living with disabilities, chronic health issues and those on low or fixed incomes? This makes no sense at all!

Was the HDGH plan conceived in isolation from the Country Road 42 "mega" hospital plan? In a follow-up story in the Windsor Star, HDGH CEO Janice Kaffer stated it had been in the planning stage for two years. Does this mean the Grace site has been out of the WRH picture much longer than publicly known? Is the Grace site Windsor's canary in the coal mine? The unsuccessful and convoluted history of the 6.5-acre Grace site is a warning about a potential future fiasco on a much greater scale to come. With the exception of a parking garage, both the 14.4-acre WRH Met and the 9.8-acre WRH Ouellette campuses (a total of 24.2 acres in established neighbourhoods) are slated for demolition, under the "mega" plan announced in July 2015.

"In order to avoid 'another Grace hospital experience,' as Windsor Regional CEO David Musyj termed it, the [Met] site will be fully demolished before being turned over to the City of Windsor as part of a land swap for the old Grace Hospital site when that site becomes an urgent care centre."   -- WindsoriteDOTca, July 16, 2015

Under the land swap deal with the City of Windsor in the 2015 plan, the Met Campus site was to be developed for residential housing. Now that deal seems to be off the table. Reported details around future downtown outpatient services also keep changing. The Ministry of Health has been questioning the wisdom of demolishing recently constructed parts of the Ouellette Campus (less than two decades old), suggesting their lifespan can still be extended. Measure twice, cut once Those calling for shovels to hit the ground on the County Road 42 single site hospital location don't seem to grasp the scale and long term implications of the risks that lie ahead. If we want a future healthcare system that works, we need to get all the details right during each stage of this very long and complex planning process. Otherwise, we are very likely to end up with another massive, costly debacle. Let the failures of the Grace site be our lesson.

The countdown to our LPAT hearing is on It will take place from October 8 to 10, 2019 We have 3 weeks to raise the last $25,000 Please come to Our Farm Organics' family friendly farm fundraiser on Saturday, September 28th. All are welcome; please invite your friends! For more information, see the event poster below. Thank you to each and every one of you who contributed so generously to our legal fund since we launched this campaign in February 2019. Some of you have made multiple donations. One of our donors even shared a modest lottery win with us! Many of you donated anonymously because you didn't want your employer to know. Please help us reach our fundraising goal by donating what you can afford --- No amount is too large or too small. If you can only afford $10, that's fine as well. If you wish to donate anonymously, GoFundMe will allow you to do so. Some people prefer to donate directly. If you would like to do so too, please email us for details.

Where: Our Farm Organics, 284 County Rd 34, Ruthven (just outside Cottam) When: Saturday, September 28, 2019 4.00-9.00 p.m.

Click here to contribute to or share our GoFundMe

In their own words: Weekly round-up of comments from our friends and neighbours

"It’s great that the Province understands WINDSOR and ESSEX county need a new hospital. With that part decided ket’s [sic] be certain the location is correct. The complex must be situated where there is good infrastructure of public transit, where a majority of people can access it easily, quickly, and inexpensively. The majority of people (whether patients or visitors) should not need a car, nor should they depend on others to give them access. I am supporting CAMPP because I believe in the benefits of density, not sprawl. I am convinced by models urban and economic and social development, and research and examples in other cities and towns around the world, that an urban location is the best location for Windsor’s hospital. The Provincial government has acknowledged its support: now it is time to get the details right. Thank you CAMPP for fighting the good fight, the right fight, representing the common good (and good, common sense) for Windsor and Essex county."

"so since they're committed to giving us the money our community should be committed to getting it done the right way. It is the single most important issue in our community and what we "settle for" we will be left with for decades....so let's get it right. An accountable Planning Process is a must!"

"So obvious that a new hospital, with a responsible location, plus the existing ones, is the answer. We already lost Grace hosp. They can keep up the drama, but people have their number. To destroy an asset, a hospital, is not prudent, it is waste of taxpayer funds."

"I strongly support efforts to shift the hospital to a city location - but please propose an alternative viable location! That would focus minds with an either/or choice and would also address travel time and parking concerns of county and suburban residents."

"The majority of people live within 5km from the river. Draw a rectangle box from Belle River to Lasalle and guess what the hospital should be located at the old GM plant."

"It really boils down to investing in place based resources, working with the data of where the majority of the population reside and the transportation and resources to support the majority while being inclusive of vulnerable sector residents that are increasingly unable to drive (seniors, low income and persons with disabilities)."

"What about the people who can't drive. Who's going to get them home. Obviously no 1 cares for them especially if it's not in the city"

"Many of us in the core rely on public transportation because we are living well below the poverty line. Anyone who really understands the operating limits of public transportation, and the wait times and the ride times would be absolutely irresponsible to push for this plan, that will strip many of the most vulnerable citizens of access to the hospital. Not to mention, we have a rapidly aging demographic who will also need to rely on public transportation or rides from family members- if they can afford cars- for hospital access."

"You don't fix the accessibility issues for the county folk by removing the accessibility for the most densely populated vulnerable members residing in the core. In fact, merely reducing the time the county folk need to drive- because they'll STILL need cars- is not even remotely comparable to the HOURS that the vulnerable people in the core who never had access to cars will now have to spend taking buses (when they're actually running. The rest of the time, those impoverished people in the core will have to choose between an 80 dollar round trip cab fare or a few weeks of groceries."