The Peterborough County-City Health Unit has announced that it will be moving to the former federal building at 185 King Street in downtown Peterborough in November 2015.
The health unit confirmed that it has purchased the first three floors of the five-storey building from the current owner, AON Inc.
“This is an exciting milestone that represents years of hard work from our staff, the Board of Health, MPP Jeff Leal, and our many municipal partners,” says Dr. Rosana Pellizzari, Medical Officer of Health. “We look forward to joining the downtown community and bringing all public health programs together under one roof to make it easy for residents to access our services.”
The health unit is already planning for the November move, which will see staff relocated from two of the health unit’s existing sites (10 Hospital Drive and 150 O’Carroll Drive). The Peterborough Clinic will be purchasing the property at 10 Hospital Drive and intends to use it for patient parking and potentially for additional spaces for medical offices.
The Community Dental Health Centre will remain in its current location at the Peterborough Square.
The health unit had originally reached a tentative deal with AON in 2013 to purchase the entire building, but that deal fell through when the health unit was unable to secure tenants for the top two floors. With the new deal, AON will retain ownership of the top two floors and intends to rent them.
“It’s a great location,” says Dr. Pellizzari. “It brings two existing workplaces together to one, creates a fabulous community space — that will be a great resource not only to our own staff but to others in the community — and it brings us much closer to our existing Community Dental Clinic.”
Funding for the heath unit’s move is primarily coming from the Ontario Ministry of Health and the City and County of Peterborough. The health unit will announce further details on the move in the coming weeks.
