Taxpayers expected to pay off Vaughan hospital lands cost sooner than expected
Yorkregion.com
May 3, 2014
By Adam Martin-Robbins
Mackenzie Health representatives, seen here on Dec. 12, 2012, along with municipal, provincial and regional politicians, watch as a towering new sign is unveiled at the site of Vaughan's future hospital, on the northwest corner of Major Mackenzie Drive and Jane Street.
Vaughan property owners could see the hospital levy removed from their tax bills by 2022, based on the city’s latest forecast.
A city staff report, presented this week to the finance and administration committee, noted from 2009 to 2013 Vaughan collected $21.2 million, after interest charges, toward the $80 million the city contributed to purchase and develop the 82-acre parcel of land at Jane Street and Major Mackenzie Drive for a hospital.
Given that, city staff project the total amount will be recovered within 13 years, rather than the 20 years originally forecasted.
The city, in 2009, imposed a special tax rate increase of 5.45 per cent, phased-in over five years, to raise the $80 million. That worked out to an annual levy of about $60 per year for the average homeowner.
The bulk of the city’s $80-million contribution, about $61 million, went toward purchasing the land that will house the Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital, slated to open in 2018/19.
On top of that, the city has spent an additional $1.8 million on developing the so-called precinct plan, which identifies the road network and access locations, transit facilities and services such as sewers and water supply, among other things.
The city expects to spend another $2.3 million on professional fees in the near future to prepare the hospital lands for development.
That leaves the city with about $15 million to put toward construction costs such as roads, water mains, sewers and storm water management ponds.
But the cost of that work is currently pegged at $26.9 million.
According to city staff, negotiations are taking place with Mackenzie Health, the local hospital corporation, regarding a cost-sharing agreement to cover a portion of that amount.
