If everything progresses according to design, over the next couple of decades, a  “complete, connected and sustainable community” will sprout on the former site of the St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital, advises Central Elgin Mayor Andrew Sloan.

The new settlement on the 416-acre site is necessitated by the need to accommodate the housing requirements of the projected 3,000 employees at the new Volkswagen PowerCo battery facility scheduled to open in 2027.

This past Wednesday evening (Oct. 8) at a public open house, Central Elgin residents had the opportunity to provide their input into the future of the site just south of St. Thomas.