Former Tyne Valley hospital reduced to pile of rubble

Tyne Valley's old Stewart Memorial Hospital has been torn down after 60 years.

"It is bittersweet," said Mayor Jeff Noye. "I think a lot of people are gonna miss the old building and say goodbye to what used to be — and I think some people are excited for what's going to come."

The building served as a hospital for 50 years before closing in 2013. It was later converted into a seniors care home, the Stewart Memorial Home, but five years ago that operation moved into a brand-new building.

Noye said demolition began late last week, resulting in a pile of rubble where the old building had stood for so long. 

"It was a vital part of our community," Noye said Tuesday. 

"It's quite a mess up there right now, but I know the crew is up there separating stuff and getting that cleaned up, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks, it'll look a lot better."

Plans for the future

In February 2022, the province told CBC News it was looking for someone to repurpose the old building — maybe as affordable housing. A call to non-profit groups also went out in 2017 without success, with potential operators possibly deterred by how much renovations and maintenance would cost. 

"The thing with the old building is, even though it looks beautiful, it's still an old building," said Noye. 

"Hopefully, with a clean slate, we can move forward."

Now that the structure has been taken down, the property has been transferred to the P.E.I. Housing Corporation for potential future housing developments, according to the province. There are no concrete plans in place at the moment, though. 

The village is a very small space and pretty well full, to be honest. There's not too many empty lots.— Jeff Noye

Noye hopes it can be used for housing. "It's one of the things that we desperately need here in Tyne Valley, same as anywhere else in Prince Edward Island… We want to keep our people here and we want to keep not just our seniors here but we want to keep young families here." 

Little land left to develop

The community is growing, he said. A new arena opened in 2021 and Tyne Valley is also home to "the best parties and festivals" in the summer. But according to Noye, one of the challenges is finding land to develop in the village. 

"The village is a very small space and pretty well full, to be honest. There's not too many empty lots." 

The province said the demolition cleanup should be done by June. 

As for Noye, he said he hopes to work with the province on both this and other potential housing development sites. 

"Obviously it's sad to see that building go, but we're excited to see what's going to be there in the future."