Tag Archives: St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital

08.29.26
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A future Railway Lands District should celebrate local heritage, enhance parks and trails, create spaces for people of all ages, and strengthen downtown St. Thomas

A significant number of concerned city residents gathered at the CASO station Wednesday afternoon for a public information centre on the future development of the downtown railway lands (see map) over the next 25 years.
The Preferred Master Plan will identify areas for development and redevelopment, permitted land uses, transportation and mobility connections, parks, public service/community uses, and infrastructure strategies.
All of this while recognizing the historical significance of the railway lands and the Downtown St. Thomas Heritage Conservation District to ensure an appropriate transition of new development to low-rise residential areas.
In part, this is prompted by the recent sale of a parcel of land at the Elgin County Railway Museum to Doug Tarry Homes for a planned residential development.

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08.01.26
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‘With every milestone reached, we sustain St. Thomas’ growth for decades to come.’ – Vic Fedeli, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

For a glimpse at the shape of things to come for St. Thomas, simply drive to the perimeter of the Yarmouth Yards industrial park.
An equally dramatic preview is now available through the transformation of the road infrastructure on the western doorstep to St. Thomas.
The Talbotville Bypass (photo below) has rapidly displaced the farmland between Wonderland Road and Hwy. 4 north of Talbotville and is due for completion by the end of next year.
And this past week, the twinning of Hwy. 3 in St. Thomas was officially launched with a ceremony on the roadway, just west of the Centennial Avenue roundabout.
Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Rob Flack was joined by Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation and Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, on Tuesday morning to announce the start of advance work, including utility relocations and grading.

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04.25.26
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St. Thomas relaunches program designed to assist low-to moderate-income households purchase their first home

After a hiatus of nearly six years, the City of St. Thomas is reviving the St. Thomas-Elgin Affordable Homeownership Program (AHP), originally launched in 2007.

The AHP was designed to assist low-to moderate-income households in purchasing their first home.

This AHP was originally funded as a one-time allocation under the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program.

It is worth noting that since its inception, 46 households have successfully achieved homeownership through the initiative.

So, how does the program operate?

In her report to council at the April 20 meeting, Ellen Hickey, Supervisor of Housing Stability Services, explained, “AHP provides down payment assistance in the form of an interest-free, forgivable loan over a 20-year period to help eligible St Thomas-Elgin households transition from renting to home ownership.

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03.21.26
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The road ahead for Railway City Transit: Ensuring you will be able to promptly get there from here

Less than 18 months after a consultant’s report called for an aggressive shift to sustainable travel modes in St. Thomas, the city is undertaking a ‘Railway City Transit Plan for Growth.’

Before delving into the latest exercise in putting the city’s transit system under the microscope, let’s recap some of the findings of the Transportation Master Plan refresh project compiled by Paradigm Transportation Solutions.

Kevin Jones of Paradigm recommended an aggressive shift in the operation of Railway City Transit that would see a six-fold increase in annual service hours involving 26 buses in service operating 17 hours every weekday.

These figures are based on a city population of 79,500, a couple of decades distant.

Jones went on to note, there is a “need to fund transit that provides an affordable alternative, enables access to all areas of the city and gives residents choice in how they travel.”

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02.28.26
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‘The former St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital site presents an exciting opportunity to put unused government land back to work, unlocking new homes, parks and local businesses’

In the coming years, in the shadow of St. Thomas, a small town will sprout and grow; its progression unfolding like time-lapse photography.

And its evolution will begin to germinate next week as the Municipality of Central Elgin begins the hunt for “experienced development partners” to play a leading role in turning about 400 acres of land into the largest planned community expansion in the municipality’s history.

The former St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital lands in the coming decades will be redeveloped into a community of more than 3,500 new homes, with 9,000 residents, local businesses and parkland.

The hospital opened in 1939, and St. Joseph’s Health Care in London assumed control in 1997 as part of the reorganization initiative ordered by the Health Care Restructuring Commission.

It closed once the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care opened in 2013.

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02.14.26
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From the Mayor of St. Thomas to Mayor Bubba presiding over the grandkids, Joe Preston is set to ‘take a step back’

While the media release on Tuesday evening may have caught some residents by surprise, if you have been a close observer over the past few months, it was evident that St. Thomas would have a new mayor come November.
The tip-offs were as subtle as the first signs of spring; however, as Mayor Joe Preston phrased it, “It was time to take a step back.”
As he stressed in the media release, the decision not to seek re-election in the 2026 municipal vote comes after “thoughtful personal and professional consideration.“
“All things have to be decided personally and professionally,” he added. “At some point, you have to ask yourself when it’s the right time to take a step back.”

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10.25.25
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‘The dream of home ownership cannot be extinguished, it has to stay alive in this province’ – Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

This week, the provincial government introduced the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, that, if passed, would build “a more prosperous, resilient and competitive economy by fighting costly delays and regulatory burdens that slow the delivery of homes, roads, and infrastructure that communities need.”
The legislation would cut red tape, thereby getting shovels in the ground faster, added Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
“With tariffs and economic uncertainty taking aim at our economy, we’re working with municipal leaders and homebuilders to get shovels in the ground faster so we can build more homes and keep workers on the job,” noted Flack.

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10.04.25
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‘Our communities feel abandoned by the very institutions meant to protect them.’ – St. Thomas Police Chief Marc Roskamp

“In communities plagued by chronic criminality, safety seems to have become a privilege instead of a fundamental right.”
A compelling observation from St. Thomas Police Chief Marc Roskamp.
It was not spoken at city hall during a council meeting; instead, it was delivered Thursday afternoon via video conferencing to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights at their meeting in the Wellington Building in Ottawa.
Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP Andrew Lawton sits on the committee, as does Brantford-Brant Conservative MP Larry Brock, who visited St. Thomas in July for a roundtable discussion to examine the evolving challenges impacting public safety in St. Thomas and Aylmer.

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08.02.25
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Andrew Lawton uses the occasion of the MP-MPP luncheon to announce the launch of his business advisory roundtables

Normally, events like the MP-MPP Luncheon and Mayor’s Luncheon, hosted each year by the St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce, are fairly subdued gatherings.
There was a luncheon a couple of years ago, following the significant land acquisition by the City of St. Thomas, where former Central Elgin Mayor Sally Martyn dominated the Q&A period, targeting Mayor Joe Preston.
But despite the stifling heat inside the Elgin County Railway Museum this past Monday (July 28), this MP-MPP get-together did have its moments, no doubt the result of the Trump tariffs impacting almost every facet of life as we know it.
The answer to literally all questions directed toward the two participants ultimately referenced the tariffs in some form.

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