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A new long-term care home will be built at the old PA General Hospital site (4 Photos)

Southbridge will construct a three-storey nursing home on Clavet Street at Algoma Street.

THUNDER BAY —  A new long-term care home will be constructed on the parking lot of the former Port Arthur General Hospital. 

Southbridge Care Homes has applied to the City of Thunder Bay for a building permit for a three-storey, 160-unit facility on Clavet Street at Algoma Street.

When it's completed, Southbridge will close its existing Southbridge Lakehead facility, and transfer the residents and staff.

The South Vickers Street building is about 50 years old and has only 131 beds.

The Ministry of Health and Long-term Care has approved 29 additional beds for its replacement.

The company says the Clavet Street nursing home will meet all the modern standards set out in the Ontario government's Long-Term Care Home Design Manual, which stipulates a maximum of two residents per room.

Spokesperson Candace Chartier says it will also have more expansive common areas, wider hallways, more intimate dining rooms, and spa-like bathing facilities.

Chartier calls the location "an amazing spot."

She said the staff at Southbridge Lakehead are already excited, and she's sure the families of the residents at Southbridge Lakehead "are just waiting to get into that new site" to see their loved ones living in a more comfortable environment. 

The project has already been tendered.

Chartier said the company had hoped to break ground before the end of the year, but it may not happen until spring, with completion projected for 2022.

Southbridge also operates Roseview Manor on Shuniah Street and Southbridge Pinewood on Walsh Street.

How much the company paid for the hospital property has not been disclosed. 

The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre vacated it in 2004 when it opened its new building on Oliver Road.

A spokesperson said Wednesday that the hospital sold the parking lot a few years ago, but she didn't have immediate access to the price.



Gary Rinne

About the Author: Gary Rinne

Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Gary started part-time at Tbnewswatch in 2016 after retiring from the CBC
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