Tunney's Pasture has won out as the preferred site for The Ottawa’s Hospital Civic Campus.
The National Capital Commission voted on that today; it will now go to the federal government for a decision.
The site off Scott Street won out over 11 other potential sites including four at the Experimental Farm .
It's clear the Experimental Farm was the preferred choice for the Ottawa Hospital but friends of the Farm are rejoicing tonight and demanding that precious land be taken off the table forever.
Tunney’s Pasture is a place that has been home to the federal bureaucracy for decades but it might become an anchor for health care in the capital.
“This is a curveball,” says the councillor for the area, Jeff Leiper, “we didn't expect Tunney's site to be the preferred site.”
It may have come as a surprise for many but the National Capital Commission added up the reasons and came up with the answer, based on a set of criteria and months of analysis and public consultations.
“Clearly it is the ideal site for the new Ottawa Civic campus,” Dr. Mark Kristmanson, the chair of the NCC said at today’s board meeting.
The decision was based on the size of the land, 50 acres, the proximity to the urban core and access to transit.
“Tunney's sits on the spine of transit-oriented development in the capital,” Kristmanson told reporters afterwards, “and the new population that will develop in the urban core will grow along the line of the LRT.”
It was not a unanimous vote, with dissenters questioning what will happen to the existing hospital and what it all means for them.
“It seems we are hanging our hat on LRT,” said NCC board member Brian Coburn, “as the panacea for all transportation issues in this city into the future.”
No one from The Ottawa Hospital was doing interviews today but in a statement, the hospital said Tunney's wasn't among its top-ranked sites.
"The hospital understood that the federal government had a vision and plans for the Tunney's Pasture development that did not include a hospital.
Plans for a new $2 Billion dollar hospital have been in the works for years. The hospital's hope was to build across the way on the Experimental Farm; something the Conservative government had agreed to.
For the friends of the Farm, today's decision brings a sigh of relief.
“But you know, the vultures are still circling on the farm,” says Leslie Maitland, with Heritage Ottawa and a vocal voice for the Farm, “we are now going to call on Minister McKenna, who is the minister responsible for National Historic sites, to do something about federal protection for national sites. They shouldn't be under the gun every time someone wants a juicy piece of land.”
The issue was raised today in the House of Commons
“What will happen to trauma patients whose ambulances are stuck in traffic,” asked Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative MP for Carleton.
Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly responded, “The NCC came up with an excellent site.”
The councillor for the area remains open-minded about the choice but says it does create challenges.
“The car access is particularly challenging,” says Jeff Leiper, “parking, helicopter access over the neighoburhood.”
This now goes to Heritage Minister to rule on this but ultimately, it is up to the hospital to decide what it wants to do: whether it looks at another option or stays where it is.
