As has come to be expected from Panoramic Properties, they are not responding to questions regarding their proposed redevelopment of the old Paris Street hospital site.
Last week, city council approved $1.7 million in Community Improvement Plan grants and incentives toward the redevelopment of the Scotia Tower office building in Downtown Sudbury to accommodate residential units.
However, the grant is contingent on the completion of all 83 units and the building’s owner, Panoramic Properties, also tearing down the old hospital building, which they also own.
The timeline for these grants is 18 months.
Sudbury.com emailed Panoramic Properties VP of operations Angelo Butera Jr. twice last week, and phoned, emailed and texted him on Monday morning. We also left a phone message with Panoramic Properties customer experience manager Natalino Raso last week.
There has been no response.
Unanswered questions include:
- Does Panoramic Properties plan on tearing down the old hospital building within 18 months?
- Is this timeline an issue for Panoramic Properties?
- What has been the holdup in tearing down the old hospital building, if it needs to be torn down to accommodate Panoramic Properties' plans?
- What is the projected timeline to break ground on the old hospital site project?
- What's your reaction when people question whether Panoramic Properties will ever do anything with the old hospital building, given the company has owned it since 2010?
Panoramic Properties has a long history of not answering media questions regarding the old hospital building, which has been vacant for approximately 14 years.
When their previous plan for the property — an $80-million condominium city council approved in 2012 — appeared to have stalled by 2017, Sudbury.com reached out for an interview. At the time, we reported that repeated calls and emails sent to them yielded unanswered questions.
In 2022, Sudbury.com reached out to Butera, who declined comment but affirmed, “we have things in the works.”
Last year, Panoramic Properties issued a media release announcing a 530-unit residential development plan for the site. Sudbury.com’s follow-up questions to Panoramic Properties were not answered, with Butera deferring to the previously issued media release which did not address them.
Among our unanswered questions included:
- What’s the projected timeline for a 530-unit residential development proposed to take shape at the old Paris Street hospital property?
- With Panoramic Properties having owned the property since 2010, what makes now the right time to proceed with a project?
- Why did the ambiguously defined previous condominium proposal stagnate?
- What’s the projected price range for units?
Earlier this year, Sudbury.com reached out to Butera and Panoramic Properties for an update on this proposal but did not receive a response.
The company’s only update since last year’s media release came during a public hearing at a planning committee meeting of city council in April. During this meeting, Tulloch Engineering planning manager Kevin Jarus, representing the company, said the proposed redevelopment of the long-vacant Paris Street hospital property would be underway “within five years.”
Sudbury.com will publish a follow-up story in the event Panoramic Properties answers our questions.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.