KINGSTON, ON – Providence Care has sold the former St. Mary’s of the Lake property to Queen’s University.
“The site had outlived its useful life for hospital-based services,” said Cathy Szabo, Providence Care’s President and CEO. “With the generous support of our community we were able to build and transition our services to the new Providence Care Hospital. While we could no longer use the St. Mary’s of the Lake site for our hospital services, we saw it as an opportunity for future growth of other health related community services in the Kingston region,” added Szabo.
As plans took shape, ideas for future development of the St. Mary’s of the Lake site changed. Providence Care, with the knowledge of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, sold the St. Mary’s of the Lake property to Queen’s University.
“The purchase of the property positions Queen’s to adapt and respond to changes in the University environment by alleviating pressures, such as parking on main campus and providing options for the University with respect to locating both academic and administrative units at this optimal location,” said Donna Janiec, VP of Finance and Administration at Queen’s. “The property is adjacent to the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, is in close proximity to the Donald Gordon Conference Centre, and bridges main and west campus.”
“Over the years, public dollars have gone into keeping the building up-to-date through maintenance and improvement, so keeping the asset in the community made sense to us,” said Szabo. “Part of our Mission as an organization is to work with our partners to innovate and excel in education and research. We saw this an another way to do that.”
“Collaborating with the Kingston hospitals in teaching and research is crucial to fulfilling our Health Sciences academic mission,” said Queen’s Principal Daniel Woolf. “We’re pleased to continue the use of the property for research and education.”
The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul acknowledged Providence Care’s decision to sell the property to Queen’s University. “As we plan our legacy, and make plans for the properties we own today, we are pleased that the building will be used in some way to further support the community and enrich the lives of others through education and research,” said Sister Sandra Shannon, General Superior.
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