Georgina
October 17, 2007 04:23 PM
New medical centre to house at least 15 physicians
By: John Slykhuis
A medical and urgent care centre treating patients seven days a week will open next year in Keswick.
The centre will be located in the building housing Shoppers Drug Mart.
The pharmacy will move to a larger store to be constructed on a property next door at the corner of The Queensway South and Dovedale Drive.
Council received a letter last week from Dr. Jeff Daiter, who, along with colleagues Dr. Michael Varenbut and Dr. Gus Zachos of Oak Ridges Urgent and Medical Care in Richmond Hill, will own and operate the centre.
“We are excited about this opportunity and have already started to discuss this project with many of our health care colleagues,” Dr. Daiter wrote.
“The urgent care centre will be open seven days a week and will be staffed by (more than) 15 physicians as it continues to grow in the number of patient visits,” he added.
The centre will draw from a ready pool of more than 40 physicians who practise in three other urgent care centres the three doctors are involved, Dr. Daiter said.
“As the medical facility takes form, we are also planning on attracting a group of family physicians, physiotherapy and chiropractic services, optician services, chiropody and a variety of medical specialties including cardiology, endocrinology, dermatology, etc,” he stated.
The diagnostic imaging and dental facility already located there will remain so “the medical centre will be able to offer a one-stop and often unparalleled, health care experience”, Dr. Daiter added.
Town council is expected to give quick approval to the plan to help address Georgina’s doctor shortage.
“We’re hoping to get site plan approval certainly some time this year and get started, hopefully during the winter months with site construction and then it will take probably four months to construct the new shoppers,” planning consultant Michael Smith said of the new Shoppers Drug Mart.
After Shoppers vacates, the doctors will move in, likely after a few weeks of renovations, he added.
“We had some concerns from residents, but they were mainly site plan, rather than zoning issues. We think we’ve addressed their concerns,” Mr. Smith said.
Plans before this had a multi-story building with ground floor retail on that property, which the residents opposed, citing a number of concerns, including privacy issues.
The current Shoppers Drug Mart is about 10,000 square feet in size.
The new store will more than double in size.
New Home Hardware
Council also had a first look at plans for a new 20,000-square-foot Home Hardware on a vacant property immediately north of the Lakeside Bistro restaurant on The Queensway South.
A number of issues still have to be addressed along with rezoning, town planning staff said.
“Attention to site details (lighting, fencing and landscaping) will be required to ensure that the proposed use does not impact the future residential development to the east and that the site is designed for potential integration with any future commercial development to the north,” planner Karyn Stone said in her report.
Home Hardware owners Steve and Kim Clee, who have owned the current store on Simcoe Street for five years, won last week’s Georgina Business Award for best small business.
Although most retail and business development is expected to take place on Woodbine Avenue, including what are expected to be a Wal-Mart and Home Depot, The Queensway is also targeted for other non-big box retail development.
“Here are two big examples of re-investing in The Queensway,” Mr. Smith said.