Redevelopment Update January 17 2007

Happy New Year! 2007 will be a busy year at 1001 Queen Street West, as we continue to construct the first four buildings of Transforming Lives Here (Phase 1A) and plan for subsequent phases of the redevelopment. Planning has taken a significant step forward with the finalization of our Land Use Guidelines for the Development of the Non-CAMH Lands.

Non-CAMH Land Use Guidelines

Almost half of the completed urban village will be comprised of non-CAMH uses. One of the key goals of the Queen Street redevelopment is to achieve an integration of CAMH's facilities within the local urban fabric. CAMH seeks to create a mixed community, with residential, retail and commercial uses side-by-side with our operations.

CAMH's Board of Trustees approved the Land Use Guidelines for the Development of the non-CAMH Lands at its January 11, 2007 meeting. A copy of the guidelines is attached to this message. First and foremost, CAMH would like to thank everyone who participated, and contributed their ideas, in the development of the guidelines.

The guidelines are intended to accomplish three key objectives:

(1) To inform the future decisions of CAMH's Board of Trustees on the subject of non-CAMH development;

(2) To communicate our vision, values, priorities and conditions for non-CAMH development to future development partners; and,

(3) To better define the character of future non-CAMH development for our stakeholders in the local community.

The process to develop the guidelines began in the Spring of 2006, and was directed by one internal steering group of CAMH staff drawn from across the organization and one external steering group comprised of prominent Toronto professionals in the fields of architecture, land development and urban planning. The process was also informed by consultation sessions with CAMH staff, the Neighbourhood Liaison Committee, the Client and Family Reference Group and Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone. The draft guidelines were circulated for information and comment in November 2006.

We received significant internal and external feedback on the draft guidelines, and incorporated a number of the recommendations we received from our stakeholders. For example, a guideline giving preference to development proposals that "meet a high standard of environmentally sustainable design" was added to the document.

During the two Board meetings (December and January) in which the guidelines were discussed, a further change was made that added the following to the conditions section, "In keeping with CAMH values, provisions in leasing arrangements will ensure that publicly used parts of the site are welcoming and accessible to the people who we serve." This provision is intended to prevent the privatization of public spaces.

With the guidelines approved, CAMH is moving ahead on a series of next steps, including a study of the local retail market. The guidelines and the work that will follow will all inform the eventual proposal calls for the development of the non-CAMH portions of the Queen Street redevelopment project. Once again, we would like to thank all those who participated in the development of the guidelines.

Phase 1A update

Work paused briefly for Christmas and New Years, but resumed January 2 and has not slowed down since. With the underground services for the future public road now installed, Eastern Construction's focus has moved to constructing the foundations and basements of the four buildings along the Western edge of our property. A second tower crane is currently being set up towards the south end of the construction site. Phase 1A remains on-schedule and is due to be completed at the end of 2007.

Summary

The first phase of our redevelopment involves the construction of four new buildings, one new public park, the extension of municipal services (including a new road) onto our site and the repair of the western sections of our Heritage Wall which borders our site. In all, Phase 1A will house 48 beds for our Addictions program and 24 for our Mood and Anxiety program in a more home-like setting. These new 'Alternate Milieu' buildings will enhance our ability to provide a high level of care for our clients. The vision for the overall redevelopment project, is to create a new hub for CAMH within a mixed urban village on the current Queen Street site.

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