It's unanimous, Sarnia council is on board with redevelopment plans for the former Sarnia General Hospital site.
City council was united in its decision to approve the official plan and zoning bylaw amendments Monday, for the site bounded by Mitton St. to the west, George St. to the south, Essex St. on the north side and MacKenzie St. N to the east.
Councillor Mike Kelch supported the amendments with enthusiasm.
"A lot of things have changed since 2015," said Kelch. "This is a superior proposal to the original, by far. There has been community engagement and generally, community support, not perfect, but very good."
He says the plans are closer in spirit to the promises Bluewater Health previously made to the community and surrounding residential areas.
"GFive has done, so far, everything they said they were going to do. To me, that's the most important thing. Promises made. Promises kept."
Councillor Brian White agreed.
"I think this is a great proposal at this point," said White. "This is an opportunity to create an anchor and who knows, as buildings are removed from the Mitton Village corridor, perhaps those properties find a use beyond commercial as well. That's what the revisioning opportunity is that is before us as a committee and I think this is only a good start to that."
White and about a dozen other members are working to breathe new life into the area, through the newly formed Mitton Village Community Development Advisory Committee.
GFive Inc. plans call for eight single-family residential lots, a crisis care facility, medical and commercial uses to be located on the north side of George St. at MacKenzie St.
Repurposing the former records building, construction of a new medical office building and three single-family residential lots is planned for the south side.