By Dominic Abassi

Old Nanaimo Hospital building to be demolished

Aug 18, 2017 | 12:18 AM

NANAIMO — A heritage building that represents the evolution of health care in Nanaimo will be torn down.

This week, the City issued a demolition permit for the old Nanaimo Hospital building at 388 Machleary St. and crews have already begun prep work.

The building became expendable after its current owner, Chartwell Retirement Residences, moved their residential care services to a brand new, $27.4 million facility on Eleventh St. The company plans to finish demolition of all of the structures on the lot by December and sell the land.

Christine Meutzner, manager of the Nanaimo Community Archives, said construction of what was Nanaimo’s third hospital began in 1925 and wasn’t completed until 1941. Previously medical care in Nanaimo was provided by a collection of miner’s cabins, followed by a large Victorian house built on the same Machleary St. lot in 1881.

“If you look at that building you can trace the development of medical services in the area,” Meutzner said. “There’s a long line starting from the 1860’s of different buildings that served the community’s medical needs, so it represents that. That’s an important value.”

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She said the old hospital set to be razed is part of the national heritage register, a designation which doesn’t provide any sort of protection but recognizes historical importance. It’s also part of Nanaimo’s community heritage register.

Meutzner, who feels it’s a shame the building will come down, said many people in the community were born and cared for in that hospital before the current regional medical facility was built in 1962. “But that generation is going. So when they go, that community memory is gone in terms of oral history. So the only thing left is, in fact, the building.”

Public buildings, like the hospital and the courthouse, chart the development of Nanaimo from a pioneer boom town to a permanent city, Meutzner said.

“That’s the importance of those kind of landmark buildings…Once they’re gone, the memory of it is gone forever. Putting a plaque up doesn’t really mean much.”

A letter from Chartwell to the City said despite security being put in place, break-ins and squatters have been ongoing issues. It also cited concerns raised by the local community association over the condition of the now “unsafe and uninhabitable” building.

During Monday’s meeting, coun. Jerry Hong wondered if an organization could potentially buy the building and transform it into low income housing.

Director of community planning Dale Lindsay said it would take a considerable amount of staff time to study the viability of that option. The buildings and land were assessed at $5.8 million in 2016.

Councillors Bill Yoachim and Gord Fuller expressed concerns about the property becoming an eyesore or remaining vacant for a long period of time.

Lindsay said conditions of the permit and city bylaws ensure the land is cleaned up and does not become an unsightly nuisance. He said there is no mechanism to place a timeline on future development, noting that would be up to the property’s future owner.

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi