Construction now underway in long-abandoned hospital site
The development of a condo that will arise on the site of Edmonton’s long-abandoned Camsell Hospital is finally pushing through, according to the developer’s architect.
While the roofs still need to be redone and the interior finish has yet to be completed, Gene Dub said that 90 per cent of new windows have already been installed, and the first resident-ready units will be available by the end of 2018.
“The delay now is pretty much under control. There’s still some financing that’s required, but there’s enough financing to continue until such time as the new financing arrives.” Dub told the Edmonton Journal.
The first phase of construction will erect 200 units at the main site and 89 units on the south property south of 114 Avenue, with another 300 units to be built after the first batch has been launched on 2018.
“We plan to build it whether there’s market demand or not,” Dub said, adding that the condo will primarily cater to the mid-range market and the younger demographic.
Ever since its closure 21 years ago, the Camsell Hospital has been the subject of much criticism among locals due to the glacial pace of its redevelopment. Dub has owned the site since 2004, and is managing the conversion of the old hospital into a residential condo complex.
Dub noted that the delay has given them the opportunity to include an Indigenous garden into the final plan, in honour of the Métis, First Nations, and Inuit communities who have a long history with the site.
Dub stated that Camsell, which was one of Canada’s largest Indigenous hospitals, was not specifically the building which accommodated First Nations people during tuberculosis outbreaks of decades past.
“The heartache was not in this building. The heartache was in the building before,” he explained. “Everyone thinks this building has ghosts and all kinds of things that are negative. But it’s not this building. It’s the previous building that was torn down.”
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While the roofs still need to be redone and the interior finish has yet to be completed, Gene Dub said that 90 per cent of new windows have already been installed, and the first resident-ready units will be available by the end of 2018.
“The delay now is pretty much under control. There’s still some financing that’s required, but there’s enough financing to continue until such time as the new financing arrives.” Dub told the Edmonton Journal.
The first phase of construction will erect 200 units at the main site and 89 units on the south property south of 114 Avenue, with another 300 units to be built after the first batch has been launched on 2018.
“We plan to build it whether there’s market demand or not,” Dub said, adding that the condo will primarily cater to the mid-range market and the younger demographic.
Ever since its closure 21 years ago, the Camsell Hospital has been the subject of much criticism among locals due to the glacial pace of its redevelopment. Dub has owned the site since 2004, and is managing the conversion of the old hospital into a residential condo complex.
Dub noted that the delay has given them the opportunity to include an Indigenous garden into the final plan, in honour of the Métis, First Nations, and Inuit communities who have a long history with the site.
Dub stated that Camsell, which was one of Canada’s largest Indigenous hospitals, was not specifically the building which accommodated First Nations people during tuberculosis outbreaks of decades past.
“The heartache was not in this building. The heartache was in the building before,” he explained. “Everyone thinks this building has ghosts and all kinds of things that are negative. But it’s not this building. It’s the previous building that was torn down.”
Related stories:
Edmonton and Calgary leading the charge in Alberta housing’s recovery
Jobs slump hurting Alberta real estate market’s prospects
