Construction is underway in downtown Midland, Ont. on a 40,000-square-foot facility that will house outpatient and community services offered by the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care and the Chigamik Community Health Centre.
Designed by Lett Architects Inc., the two-storey hub will accommodate programs currently offered by Waypoint at the Georgian Bay General Hospital site and the Housing Employment Rehabilitation Services Our Place Social Club (HERO) Centre on King Street in Midland.
Chigamik will relocate services from its current site at 845 King St.
“We have worked with many health care organizations that try to co-locate,” said architect Bill Lett. “In many cases, the ultimate result is that they are just housed under one roof. In the case of Chigamik and Waypoint, there has been a true collaboration for improving access to services, with which I am so impressed.”
The project is being undertaken by a team that includes structural engineers LEA Consulting Ltd. and mechanical-electrical engineers H.H. Angus & Associates Ltd.
Construction costs are estimated at $10 million while total project costs are in the $16 million neighbourhood. The construction manager is Gillam Group Inc.
“We hope to occupy the space by the end of December 2018,” said Robert Savage, Waypoint’s vice-president of redevelopment, who is acting as project manager on the job.
Plans for the two organizations to use town-owned property to build the new hub were approved in principle by Midland council in early 2015.
Ground was officially broken last October at the site on Bayshore Drive, at Edgehill Drive and Gloucester Street.
“The health hub is a significant new addition to the town of Midland,” a statement from Lett Architects said.
Perched on a prominent site just outside of the town centre, the building occupies green space adjacent to Edgehill Park.
“Set in this beautiful context, it takes its position gracefully tucked into the side of the hill and draws from the natural features in the choice of exterior cladding: wood siding and clay brick,” Lett stated.
The exterior also features a louvered screen, encircling the perimeter, and situated prominently above the front entry.
“It filters natural and artificial light recalling the presence of sunlight through a forest,” said the statement.
The decision to construct a joint facility was prompted in part by the fact Waypoint needed a new home for its programs currently housed at both the hospital site and the HERO centre.
For its part, Chigamik was looking for a permanent home in Midland.
“Our (Waypoint) leases are expiring at both locations,” Savage said. “Coincidentally, Chigamik had approval for a capital project going back at least five years. But they had never been able to find a suitable downtown site.
“So it made a lot of sense to bring everything together in a community hub.”
In addition, Savage said, construction of such a hub fits within the vision of the province’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for the provision of future facilities.
“It’s really a cultural shift here having two different health care organizations in the same building,” Savage said. “But there are a lot of advantages — such as avoiding duplication of spaces.”
The building will house a number of common elements such as washrooms, meeting rooms, a community kitchen, physiotherapy facilities and a reception area.
Several rooms are designated for “smudging” to serve the Indigenous community.
Savage said construction is not expected to pose any particular challenges. The building’s shell is slated to be completed by the summer.
“At the moment, we’re right on schedule,” he said.
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