A second hospital site for Newmarket's overcrowded Southlake Health could be in East Gwillimbury.
East Gwillimbury council passed a resolution March 4 to advocate for lands northwest of Queensville Sideroad and Leslie Street as a location for the second hospital site that Southlake has been seeking. The resolution states that the Green Earth Village townhome development has two 40 to 50 acre sites available that could work, with a nearby York-Region-owned site to further support the location.
Southlake Health confirmed that a staged process is underway to evaluate prospective sites, with detailed submissions from a short list of proponents due by March 14.
“It’s no secret that Southlake serves some of the fastest growing and aging communities in Ontario. Another hospital is needed to meet the needs of our growing community, and that’s why Southlake initiated an open call to identify land suitable to build another large community hospital last year,” the health organization said. “Following a thorough review by technical experts, Southlake looks forward to unveiling a preferred proponent in early spring.”
Southlake has been looking for a second hospital site for several years, with area population growth leading to significant overcrowding problems at the existing Newmarket site. The vision is for the Newmarket site to remain in operation alongside a second hospital site, but the hospital has faced challenges in locating land for it.
Green Earth Village from Royalpark Homes and SigNature Communities is proposed to be a development including residential, commercial/office/retail, trails and green energy through solar and geothermal. The development is listed as being in the pre-construction phase on several online real estate websites. The area is about 3.5 kilometres north of the current Southlake Health hospital site.
East Gwillimbury council unanimously supported the resolution supporting the site after a closed-door meeting, and the resolution said there would be “timely servicing potential, no environmental or heritage constraints and the potential for complementary uses.”
“This step puts us closer to obtaining a world-class health-care facility in EG,” Councillor Scott Crone said on social media after the resolution. “To be clear, there are many hurdles to come, but positive incremental progress is being made. We are on the shortlist. Other communities will be competing as well.”
It is not yet clear what other communities are in the running, but King has also attempted to be a potential site for the next Southlake hospital location previously. The municipality supported a proposal for a site to be built on lands in King within the environmentally protected Greenbelt at the corner of Highway 9 and Bathurst Street. But that was pushed back after the province rescinded plans to open up new sections of the Greenbelt for development.
However, the municipality floated the possibility in May 2024 of those lands potentially being developable for a hospital site using a ministerial zoning order, if approved at the provincial level.