I am happy to report that the restoration of the lower level of Stonegate CHC are nearing completion. The Health Promotion Team will be moving back to our Berry Road location on April 22nd. We will take the next week to get settled and prepare our new program room and kitchen. Normal programs will resume at the beginning on May.
We are also excited to be adding a Physiotherapist to our team in early May.
Although the construction site appears idle, we have been very busy behind the scenes moving forward the project that will one day include a new Community Health Centre for the Stonegate community. We have support from the Ministry of Health and from the Toronto Central LHIN to move forward with the project. We have negotiated a 20 year lease with the developer. This week we will be determining the architectural firm who will work with us to design the new Health Centre.
Community meetings were held in February with the developer and city staff. We heard at those meetings that there has been no success in attracting a larger grocer to be a tenant in the new commercial building. We are very disappointed and very concerned about food security issues in the Stonegate community especially for those who need to walk or use public transit to do their grocery shopping. We do continue to offer in partnership with ESS Support Services, a regular bus services for anyone who is elderly or has mobility issues. This service picks up people at their home, takes them to No Frills to shop and delivers them and their groceries back to their home.
The plan for the first floor of the commercial building now includes space for smaller retailers and we hope that at least one store will provide healthy food for local residents.