BORDERED as it is by a school, the Sande Overpass, and residential and other properties, is the current location of Mills Memorial Hospital the best place for its replacement structure?
To be sure, the current location is large and certainly sufficient along with the added bonus that it’s already owned by the Northern Health Authority.
But with the new structure to be certainly larger than the current one and expected to have higher traffic volumes and be much busier – with an early on-site plan suggesting parking for 300 vehicles – another large piece of property might be more suitable.
Consider the large site just west of the Sande Overpass, along Keith Ave., the former location for the Skeena Cellulose/Terrace Lumber Company sawmill.
It’s flat and more than 40 acres in size, and a portion could be hived off to accommodate a structure of the size being considered. And at last reports, it’s for sale.
One drawback will be the need for environmental remediation given its sawmill site history.
But an argument can be made that absent of any large scale industrial or other interest, the property will sit as it is for years to come.
In this regard, spending tax money to clean the site for the public good of a new Mills Memorial Hospital is worth considering.
