A massive John Deere excavator owned by Green Infrastructure Partners Inc. (GIP) rumbled on to the old General Hospital site on Queen Street East early Thursday evening in preparation for demolition of the dilapidated building.
The City of Sault Ste. Marie closed Queen Street East to vehicular traffic from Church to Simpson Streets.
Motorists were directed to Wellington Street East while the operation took place.
The area of Queen Street East between Church and Simpson was anticipated to be closed to traffic between 5 and 7 p.m.
The excavator was moved to property immediately east of the old hospital building where crews worked to fix a heavy-duty digging attachment to its front end.
Heavy GIP demolition equipment has been parked on the old hospital site since December.
Council approved sale of the old General Hospital building for one dollar to GIP in November. Based in Markham, Ont., GIP is one of Canada's largest infrastructure development companies.
GIP will be preparing a plan for the old General Hospital property in the months to come. The former General Hospital building must be demolished within 18 months after its purchase by GIP.
Ruscio Construction bought the former renal building for $2 million.
GIP was created in 2022 when it was spun off for $224 million by GFL Environmental Inc., the waste management giant founded by billionaire former Saultite Patrick Dovigi.