The province has sold the former London Psychiatric Hospital to London's Old Oak properties for $17 million, paving the way for development of the large site at Highbury Avenue and Oxford Street.

The 160-acre property includes two large parcels of land, separated by rail tracks on Highbury Avenue.

"I'm very excited. It's a unique site, it's one of the largest available development sites in the city," said Greg Bierbaum, president and CEO of Old Oak Properties.

"It's centrally located, it's got easy access from Highbury to the highways, close proximity to the airport and it's directly across from the ever-growing Fanshawe College."

There are 23 buildings on the site, incuding the original psychiatric hospital which dates back to 1884.

Bierbaum said he's looked extensively at the plan developed by the province and the city for the site. It includes what uses should be considered for the site and "a strong committment to maintaining the heritage on the site," he said.

"Our use would be primarily residential, with a variety of forms, that would include apartments, seniors facilities and perhaps an element of student housing," Bierbaum said.

Image | Nurses at London Psychiatric Hospital

Caption: For almost 145 years, mental health care was offered on the grounds of the Highbury Avenue and Oxford Street facility. (Regional Mental Health Care collection at Western University Archives.)

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The site is one of several "transit villages" outlined in the London Plan, the city's blueprint for growth. A transit village is a high-density, mixed-use neighbourhood connected by rapid transit to downtown and to other transit villages.

"There are also lands available for academic use, which is an obvious thing with the proximity to Fanshawe College. There are a number of buildings that have been identified as historically significant and we are looking at what we can do to repurpose them."

Development on the site will take 10 to 15 years to take shape, Bierbaum said.