CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - The province is getting closer to demolishing two former long-term care facilities that have been vacant for several years.
On Friday, Paula Biggar said the government has budgeted about $3 million to demolish the former Prince Edward Home in Charlottetown.
That project has been complicated by the heating system, which has pipes from the energy from waste plant running into the building, Biggar said.
She added discussions have started about how to proceed with the demolition and dealing with the heating lines.
“That’s part of the planning that has to take place before we can take the building down,” Biggar said.
The building has been vacant since 2015 and has been declared surplus so the government can dispose of it.
Biggar said there is a pump in the building for the energy from waste system and lines that run out to other buildings.
That means looking into whether the lines and pump have to be moved or if the pump has to be capped, she said.
“It’s a little bit of complication.”
Biggar said the province has included the spending on the demolition in its budget with a hope of being ready to tear the building down in 2018-2019.
“The money’s there as the key factor,” she said.
A plan for what to do with the site after the demolition still hasn’t been decided on, Biggar said.
Charlottetown Mayor Cliffor Lee has an idea for it and said he would like to see the site used for green space as part of Victoria Park.
He suggested a memorial garden since the building was used as a palliative care centre for many years.
“To honour the lives of everyone who lost a battle, especially in palliative care, and the doctors and nurses out there who put a lot of love and care into that site,” Lee said.
Along with the former Prince Edward Home, Biggar confirmed the province is demolishing the old Summerset Manor in Summerside.
Biggar said a request for proposals for its demolition will be going out soon.
“There wasn’t any interest in re-developing that property as it was, so we’re now going to be taking that building down,” she said.
There were previous requests for proposals for the property, which has been vacant since 2012, but no interested parties.
“We’re at a point now where we need to get the building down, so we’re going to proceed with that,” Biggar said.
She also said she hopes the building will be demolished by the end of the summer.
As for a future use for the property, Biggar said there is a possibility it could be used for more seniors’ housing as part of the government’s housing strategy.
“That is an ideal location, I think, for that because there’s already seniors’ housing units there,” she said.
