He’s had a couple of discussions with the province over the property and thinks something can happen this year that would see the building demolished and turned into green space.
“In fairness to the province it hasn’t been on the top of the radar for a number of months and I would suggest it fell through the cracks at city hall, and fell through the cracks at the provincial government,’’ Lee said Monday.
“I’ll pursue it again with the province and see if there are any advances made from their perspective.’’
The issue came up in the legislature on April 8, but there was little information given in terms of moving the issue forward.
Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Paula Biggar said the building has not yet been declared surplus, but didn’t offer any timelines.
The provincial government has said in the past they would like to use some of the land to extend the parking lot from the provincial government offices.
The city, in turn, wants the building removed and the space converted into green space, but Lee understands compromises may have to be made.
“At the end of the day, there is going to be a come-down-the-road type approach to this thing and hopefully the province and the city can both walk away as achieving their goals.’’
The Mi’kmaq Confederacy of P.E.I. seems to have an interest in the property as well.
Don MacKenzie, executive director of the confederacy, there is a duty to consult with the Mi’kmaq before any decisions are made or actions taken.
“At this point, all I can say is that there has been no consultation to date and we do not know what, if any, decisions have been made about the property,’’ MacKenzie said.
In 2015, The Guardian reported that it would cost the province $2.6 million to demolish the building.
Lee said the city isn’t interested in any development. That includes areas for parking and recreation things like soccer fields.
But, he does recognize that the building used to be a palliative care centre where some people spent their final days.
“Maybe there is an opportunity to create some type of memorial garden to commemorate what that property was used for.’’
At one time, the building was one of two referral hospitals in the city. The Prince Edward Island Hospital operated until the Queen Elizabeth Hospital opened in 1982.
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