Palliative care facility gets go-ahead on heritage site

Construction on a new $5.2-million palliative care building will now begin after the City of Charlottetown has given the province approval to build on a heritage site.              

The facility is going up on Murchison Lane, near the Sherwood Home — the same location as the old Falcon Wood estate, which was home to a mansion in the 1800s and later the Falconwood Hospital and a government farm.

"I understand that contractors are ready to go and there were some concerns that there would be delays maybe — some penalty clauses for any delays in construction -- so it's not a big deal," said Rob Lantz, chair of the planning and heritage committee.

"It was a formality to run it through the heritage board. There was absolutely no concerns. The site of this development has no bearing on the feature of the property that was designated as a heritage resource."

The land has already been cleared and the foundation should be poured this week.

The centre should be finished next fall.