Selling land at Eagle Ridge Hospital won’t harm future plans for the health care facility and is critical to pay for much-needed expansion, says the hospital’s executive director.
Lisa Zetes-Zanatta told The Tri-City News that selling a portion of land was always in the cards so Fraser Health could pay for its portion of a planned $27.6-million emergency room expansion.
Fraser Health is seeking an official community plan amendment from Port Moody council to change the land use designation on two parcels — one on the western end and another on the eastern border — so they can be sold and rezoned for market condominiums and rental housing.
The Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation, which is working to raise $5 million toward the expansion, has said in a memo to the community that it is not in favour of the proposal because it doesn’t match an earlier vision.
Zetes-Zanatta said the plan has changed and now two lots could be sold, instead of one, but she said the funds are needed and selling both won’t impinge on future hospital expansion because any future construction would likely be in towers, making better use of available land not like the low-rise buildings that were originally developed.
“I feel very confident that there is more than enough land to be developed," she told The Tri-City News. "The challenge that was referenced by the foundation is it didn’t match the piece of land they thought would be put forward for sale."
She said even with selling off two parcels “there is still significant land available” and noted that 20% of the new construction would be for below-market rental units, which, from a “healthcare perspective is excellent.”
“Health care struggles to make sure we reach people who can’t reach us now, so having that adjacency is a benefit,” she said.
The land sale proposal comes as the community waits for a needed ER expansion.
In March, 2017, Fraser Health announced it will kick in $22.6 million towards the cost of a $27.6-million ER expansion at the Port Moody hospital to double the number of beds, reduce wait times for patients and provide isolation rooms for those with infectious diseases. When complete, the expanded ER is projected to be able to handle 68,000 patients per year, up from about 50,000 today.
Zetes-Zanatta said improving the ER is part of a plan that also includes upgrading the cardiology department and ambulatory care.
“It’s a multi-phase project," she said. "In order to get the end of that project we need a land sale to occur in order to get the funds to release the infrastructure."
The plans displayed for the public March 7 show the potential redevelopment could include two highrise towers, with a south tower of 26 storeys and a north tower of 22 storeys; on another parcel, there could be a mixture of six-and 12-storey buildings, with a three-storey townhouse complex.
Further opportunities for the public to comment will occur as the proposal moves through the city’s approval process, she said.
