Demolition of the former Oak Bay Lodge was underway Wednesday, but there are still no firm plans for what will be built on the site.
No budget or timeline for a replacement project have been finalized, said Denise Blackwell, a Langford councillor and chairwoman of the Capital Regional Hospital District.
“We’re in the process of doing community consultation and that’s been very good,” Blackwell said. “There’s lots of interest from folks in Oak Bay and all around the region.”
Residents of the lodge, a 235-bed care facility built in 1972, were moved to The Summit long-term care home on Hillside Avenue in 2020.
Ideas for what should be built on the Cadboro Bay Road site largely involve seniors’ care and continuing care, Blackwell said — with possible additional health services such as an urgent-care centre if there’s room left over.
Covenants on the four-acre property stipulate that it should accommodate the elderly and be used for the public good.
Blackwell said the hospital district is working on the project with Island Health. The district funds 40 per cent of the major capital projects for Island Health, which has included the expansion of Royal Jubilee Hospital, urgent-care centres and The Summit care facility, she said.
Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch said he is hoping there will be some “firm answers” soon about what will replace the lodge. “Obviously there’s a lot of community interest in it.”
Murdoch said Island Health has talked about a “community health and seniors’ hub” at the site with a mix of services.
He said the shared goal for Oak Bay, Island Health and the hospital district is to “move things expeditiously as much as humanly possible.”
