SoHo affordable housing project on old Victoria Hospital land to get underway in the spring

A project to build a large mixed-use housing development on the former grounds of the old Victoria Hospital is set to get underway this coming spring. 

Vision SoHo Alliance, a group made up of six non-profit housing developers, held a ground-breaking ceremony on the SoHo property on Friday to mark the official purchase of two historic hospital buildings, and the final portion of the sale,.

The former Health Services Building and War Memorial Children's Hospital were bought by the City of London in 2020. It's contributing $14M to the project, with members of Vision SoHo Alliance saying this week they were surprised to discover city officials allowed the heritage structures to fall into disrepair. 

The other hospital buildings on the South Street property were torn down to make way for the new development. It will include four new buildings along Hill Street with some 682 units, half of them affordable rentals to address the growing number of people living without shelter.

"This is unacceptable and our community cannot wait any longer to take action," said lawyer and London Community Foundation Chair Erin Naylor. "Having safe, secure and affordable housing is the foundation for wellbeing and that is exactly what we hope to achieve."

Construction and restoration will be a slow process, especially with additional work now required on the heritage sites. Indwell, one of charities involved in the project, said when they took possession last month — the roofs were leaking, there was a lot of water in the basement, and moisture had created mould throughout. 

"There'll be work involved in new servicing and that's going to take some time," said Indwell Project and Development Director Graham Cubitt. It could take up to six months alone to complete a plan to renovate the Health Services Building, he added.

Construction on new buildings also can't start until a parking garage is built. The indoor lot is one of the first areas of construction, which four new units will sit on top of.

"It's not really a sexy project," said London Community Foundation CEO and president Martha Powell, adding Vision SoHo still needs to attract funders and weigh the total development costs. She says the project needs millions to reach its ribbon-cutting goal for 2025.

"We couldn't really move forward until we purchased the land," Powell said. 

"Now that we've purchased the land, each project can go ahead and cost their buildings out and know the number that are going to be affordable and market-rent in each building."

The South Street site of Victoria Hospital was created in 1875. The War Memorial Children's Hospital was constructed in 1922 and the health services building, which features an auditorium, in 1932. Both are listed as heritage properties by the City of London.