VIDEO: Should the city spend millions to buy the old hospital?

As SooToday reported last week, there is renewed hope that the old hospital site — the city's biggest eyesore — may finally be redeveloped.

On Tuesday, city councillors will be asked to vote on a plan that would see the city purchase the buildings and the land for $4.75 million, with the hopes of then flipping the property to developers and eventually recouping the entire investment through future property taxes.

"We are confident that we are doing the most fiscally responsible thing that we can do for the community," says Mayor Matthew Shoemaker.

The former General Hospital site and Plummer renal unit were purchased in 2019 by Leisure Meadows Community Living Inc. for a combined $1.3 million, with promises to redevelop the property into condominiums and a long-term care facility. 

But those plans never materialized. Instead, the city and the owners have locked horns over property standards infractions that forced Leisure Meadows to recently erect a chain-link fence around the entire property.

SooToday cameras hit the street to hear what people think about the city's proposal to purchase the property.