So the Campus of Care is Cancelled.

What Happened,  

and What Happens Next?

The Town announced on Friday, November 8 that the Campus of Care project has been cancelled.  Apparently, the project negotiations were ended because the financials could not be made to work with the Town's increased Development Charges.

What happened?

The proposed Campus of Care has been divisive in our community, almost since its inception. Concerns were expressed about the height and density of the housing planned for the site, about its impact on traffic flows and about infrastructure capacities. Those were valid issues that needed to be addressed.

At the same time, the appeal of adding 160 Long Term Care (LTC) beds that would have allowed TBM residents to age in place was clear. The only LTC facility in Town, Errinrung, on Bruce Street, is slated to close in a few years.  

The Campus of Care would have addressed a significant TBM need. It would have also helped to shift our skewed housing mix.  That would have helped the town meet its commitment to creating attainable housing.

What happens next?

Will TBM see an LTC facility in the foreseeable future?  

Extremely unlikely.  Mayor Matrosovs stated that Council remains committed to attracting LTC beds to our Town, and that the proponent still has the allocation of 160 beds from the Province.

However, as the Campus of Care process covered a number of years, any suggestion that the proponents will now turn around and try to work out a new deal with TBM seems far fetched.

We have questions for Council

• What is the plan for creating long-term care beds, and for improving our housing mix more broadly, including affordable and attainable units?
  Our Council has stated its commitment to this objective, but a road map is lacking.

  
  

• To what extent did Council indecisiveness contribute to this outcome?
  Advancing major infrastructure projects in an efficient manner has proven to be a huge challenge for Council and Staff to overcome. Regardless of the Campus of Care's demise, the growth that will be driven by projects in the development pipeline necessitates significant infrastructure capacity expansion.
  

  
  

• Will this cancellation pose a risk to our Provincial funding?
  TBM was granted $25 million for "Housing-Enabling Water Systems" infrastructure.  The Campus of Care was only one of a number of housing projects underway in our Town, and the others continue to progess.  Nevertheless, this would have been a significant addition to our housing stock.  If TBM does not show real progress in moving water projects forward, and soon, is it not out of the question that the Province might consider pulling that grant. Will this cancellation pose a risk to our Provincial funding?

  
  

Summary

So the Campus of Care project is dead. However, the challenges of ensuring we realize sustainable growth remain.  

That is why the BMRA will continue to closely monitor and report on the Town's performance in upgrading its infrastructure.

Please forward this email to interested friends & neighbours