Ontario Construction News staff writer
Hamilton city council has approved a grant to help clean up contaminated land at the former Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital property at 290 Fennell Avenue W., supporting redevelopment that includes a 512-bed long-term care facility and future housing.
Council approved an Environmental Remediation and Site Enhancement (ERASE) Redevelopment Grant application from Schlegel Villages Inc. at its Oct. 7 meeting. The application was submitted Oct. 1, 2024, after the company acquired the property from Infrastructure Ontario in August 2024.
The proposed grant would cover about $12.03 million in eligible remediation costs, including the removal and disposal of contaminated soil, environmental testing, monitoring and site restoration.
The six-hectare site is at the northwest corner of Fennell Avenue West and Juravinski Drive. It forms part of the former psychiatric hospital property, which contains vacant and obsolete institutional buildings slated for demolition.
Hamilton’s larger redevelopment plan includes a long-term care and retirement facility on the Schlegel Villages lands, future residential development on adjacent lands known as the General Market Lands, and a public road network to serve the development.
A provincial Minister’s Zoning Order issued in 2020 permitted residential redevelopment of the property. Amendments in 2024 added permissions for a long-term care facility and retirement home. The order requires construction of the long-term care facility before development of the remainder of the site.
Other lands covered by the zoning order are earmarked for affordable housing within the existing Century Manor building, post-secondary institutional uses associated with Mohawk College and other community uses.
Environmental investigations conducted between 2009 and 2025 identified contamination in shallow soils across substantial portions of the property. Historical activities associated with the former hospital, including boiler operations, coal storage, vehicle maintenance, underground storage tanks and building demolition, contributed to environmental impacts.
Also, ash, coal residues, demolition debris, wood waste, painted bricks and lead-based paint chips were found in fill materials. Testing identified elevated concentrations of metals, including lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium and zinc, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Lead-based paint chips and painted brick fragments distributed through the subsurface were identified as the primary source of widespread lead contamination.
Groundwater investigations did not identify contaminant concentrations exceeding applicable provincial standards. However, soil contamination above applicable standards must be addressed before the property can be used for its planned residential, institutional and community purposes.
A remedial action plan prepared by environmental consultant GHD Ltd. recommends excavating and disposing of more than 60,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil and other unsuitable materials at approved facilities. The work also includes confirmatory soil sampling, backfilling with clean material and the environmental documentation required to support Records of Site Condition under Ontario regulations.
The city’s ERASE program is intended to help overcome the cost of remediating brownfield properties and make redevelopment possible. Grants are funded through a portion of the additional municipal property taxes generated by completed developments and are paid only after redevelopment has occurred.
“This project will help deliver much-needed long-term care spaces, support future housing opportunities and generate new tax revenue that can help fund city services,” Mayor Andrea Horwath said in a statement.
