New Tidal View won't have tidal view

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The new Tidal View Manor will be too big for the site by the hospital.

Town councillor Wally Strickland delivered this news during a committee report at last week's town council meeting. Strickland said planners looked at the site and determined there is not enough room for the new building or to allow for future expansion.

In a report delivered to the project's executive committee on Aug. 27, developers said of the hospital site: "Spectacular view not withstanding, (the location is) complicated by weather exposure as well as potential complicated logistics and political issues associated with displacing the helicopter pad and a significant number of parking spots."

The bottom line, said Strickland, between the lack of space and the significant disruption the project would case to daily operations at the hospital, the location just doesn't work. "It compromised both the operators of both the long-term care facility and the hospital," he said in a later interview. "No matter what we did there we were going to be at a limit for expansion."

The ability for expansion is a major consideration going into the plans. Strickland said the new facility would need in the area of seven to nice acres. Because of this, he said, they want a location that is about 11 acres.

An added challenge to the process is the fact that the new building must be one level with multiple exits.

The executive committee is now considering three sites: land around Trask Avenue; land around Myrtle Street; and the area behind the Superstore and Walmart.

Strickland said the area by the malls is especially attractive because of its proximity to the hospital and shopping areas. He said being away from the hospital would not impact the facility's access to hospital services. "We can still use some of their services such as laundry, purchasing power and those types of things," he said. "But we would have to have our own kitchen facilities and things of those nature."

The change in location should not have a major impact on the planning process. Strickland said project architects couldn't begin making plans until a site was confirmed, anyway. It is his hope, he said, that the location will be picked and announced within a month. "I would hope (we can start) before the end of the year, you know, breaking ground if the weather is suitable."