Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

MUSKOKA — It looks like a site for the new South Muskoka Memorial Hospital is almost certain.

After narrowing down the search to five and then three finalists, the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare board and relocation committee have a “preferred” location in Bracebridge.

And tonight in Dwight — at the first of more than a week of community meetings to update on their progress — they will announce the leading candidate and the public will learn where their future hospital health care will be in south Muskoka for the next 60 years.

At last Thursday’s hospital board meeting members agreed their top options were the Muskoka Beach/Royale property; a site near Walmart; and one on Hwy. 118 West near Bracebridge’s new arena and library currently under construction.

But it appears the leading candidate for now is the property at the south end of town across from the Muskoka Brewery on Muskoka Beach Road (District Road 17) near Fenner Dunlop and the CN train bridge off Hwy. 11 closest to the Muskoka Airport.

It would be just over six kilometres south from the existing SMMH site downtown.

MAHC board’s final decision in early May

But a final decision — they emphasize — remains yet weeks away when it come at the board’s next meeting in early May.

MAHC board members will begin Monday night in Dwight explaining their remaining choices and how they’ve come to the conclusion that the Beach Road site appears now to top the long list of multi-faceted requirements that must be met first before definitively deciding.

While their consultants have done most of the preliminary work on provincial requirements and rough costs for local services to the three finalist sites, the Town of Bracebridge is conducting more detailed financial estimates for them that will ultimately determine the winner. (MAHC is paying the town for those studies as is standard.)

There also remain a few archaeological and environmental studies to finish up on.

But as it looks now, with most of the information necessary, the “old turkey farm” appears to be hard to beat in comparisons, MAHC will announce over the coming weeks.

The location is off Ecclestone Drive West (District Road 118) on Muskoka Beach Road (District Road 17) across from the Muskoka Brewery and near Fenner Dunlop. It would also be 13 kms and a little closer from the post office in Gravenhurst.

If so, the road toward an eventual hospital opening in Bracebridge remains long — likely 2029 before ground-breaking and 2031 before it opens after two years of construction.

Huge to be on Infatructure Ontario list

The good news for area residents, seasonal users and any potential patients is that the province has now officially placed Muskoka’s two hospitals on its Infrastructure Ontario list of projects to one day be constructed.

That in itself is huge, say MAHC administrators, who are relieved and overjoyed at just having their name added to that lengthy list of future other hospitals, bridges, highways and the likes that the government will one day build.

Making the list is no guarantee of a fast track — but at least Ford Tories have agreed to the $967 million(+) it should take to construct the two hospitals in Muskoka at Bracebridge and Huntsville.

MAHC says that alone buys them a little more time, until January 2024, to submit their final plans for the Bracebridge site that completes this latest planning stage phase.

The application would also include their plans for fundraising commitments and projections — the one-third “public share” cost the hospitals are expected to come up with that as of today would be $225 million.

The province would pay the two-thirds rest to build the hospitals, while MAHC and Muskokans are responsible for the interior medical furnishings and finishing and to operate them.

As of now hospital officials are working diligently to solicit long-term, multi-year funding commitments from the District of Muskoka and its six town and township governments.

After that they will determine how much of that share will need to be raised through private in individual contributions at large. MAHC officials won’t say what they anticipate that local government/donor split will be — 50/50, 60/40, 70/30, 80/20 ….

Public meetings

In the meantime, to learn more about the final three choices and the final deliberations, the public is invited to attend the six in-person meetings starting tonight in Dwight, Lake of Bays:

• Lake of Bays: Monday, April 17, at 7 p.m. at the Dwight Community Centre at 1014 Dwight Beach Road
• Port Carling: Tuesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at the Port Carling Community Centre at 3 Bailey St.
• Burk’s Falls: Wednesday, April 19, at 7 p.m. at the Armour, Ryerson & Burk’s Falls Memorial Arena, 2nd floor hall at 220 Centre St.
• Huntsville: Thursday, April 20, at 7 p.m. at the Active Living Centre (first floor) at 20 Park Dr.
• Gravenhurst: Saturday, April 22, at 10 a.m. at the Terry Fox Auditorium in the Gravenhurst Centennial Centre at 101 Centennial Dr.
• Bracebridge: Saturday, April 22, at 2 p.m. at the Bracebridge Rotary Centre for Youth at 131 Wellington St.

You can also register to attend the two virtual information sessions on Monday, April 24, at 7 p.m. and Wednesday, April 26, at 10:30 a.m.  Register for the Zoom link to attend a virtual information session.

EMAIL: news@muskokatoday.com

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