Plenty of interest in property

By The Sault Star

Updated 5 hours ago

The prognosis is good for buyer interest in the former Sault Area Hospital site.

Sam Butkovich, broker of record with RE/MAX Sault Ste. Marie Realty, fielded a steady stream of phone calls and e-mails on Monday following the listing of the waterfront property. Queries to the SAH representative came from the city and Sudbury.

“This can change the whole (character) of the downtown,” said Butkovich.

“I’m excited about it. Whatever happens there is going to be a great thing for Sault Ste. Marie.”

The 19-acre property on Queen Street East is listed for $4.9 million in an ‘as is’ condition.

A purchaser would be responsible for an environmental survey. Imperial Oil used to have a tank farm at the base of Lucy Terrace where a parking lot now stands.

The General and Plummer hospitals purchased the oil company’s property in 1978.

Zoned waterfront, the the hospital land can be used for residential, commercial, office or institutional development.

The sale includes the former Plummer and General sites and residential property on Woodward Avenue.

Sale proceeds will be used to pay down hospital debt, said president and CAO Ron Gagnon in a statement.

The hospital will benefit from a robust local real estate market that has enjoyed strong demand for two to three years.

“Their timing is perfect for something like this right now,” said Butkovich.

The former Plummer site will house patients waiting for long-term care beds until early 2013. That need will need to be factored into purchase offers, the hospital said.

The property is being offered as one parcel. Multiple closing dates for different parts of the site will be considered.

Bids, accepted until Aug. 15, will be considered by the hospital board based on the price offered and conditions made.

The sale must be approved by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Potential buyers will be walked through the property individually, rather than having an open house similar to a residential property.

“I don’t think that would work. It’s just too big,” said Butkovich.

“You don’t want to have people wandering all over the place in there.”

The hospital moved to a new location on Great Northern Road in March.

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