It was a triumphant moment for one former councillor as he watched as shovels ripped apart the ground, signifying the start of a new medical clinic in the city.
“It’s really a good thing for St. Albert,” said Malcolm Parker on Oct. 24. “I can’t wait to see the building progress.”
Sturgeon Medical Centre, located at 625 St. Albert Trail, is expected to open in 2020.
Parker has been tackling the project since 2010, when the then-councillor was assigned to a task force looking into medical needs of the community. At the time, St. Albert was dealing with a shortage of family physicians.
The physician task force conducted a survey in 2011 that drew responses from 613 residents. The results showed nearly 20 per cent of St. Albertans did not have a family doctor.
While trying to find a solution, Parker spoke with medical professionals to see if they would be willing to relocate to St. Albert.
Parker reached out to NorthWest Healthcare Properties, which has a centre in Spruce Grove, to see if the company would be interested in building in St. Albert.
Almost a decade later, the process has had some difficulties.
Terry Schmitt, regional general manager for NorthWest Healthcare Properties that owns Sturgeon Medical Centre, said it was hard to find doctors willing to move into the centre.
“We had a certain amount of success, but we couldn’t get over the goal line,” he said.
Costs associated with relocating their already-established businesses was a major sticking point for many physicians, Parker explained.
Almost half of the 40,000-square-foot facility is currently leased out. The centre, located across from the Sturgeon Community Hospital, will have a primary care office, obstetrician-gynecologists, an optometrist, dentist, café and more.
James Dean, co-owner of Active Physio Works, is one of the tenants going into the space. He said being located near a hospital is one of the reasons he wants to move into the space.
“Location is excellent,” he said. “I think it’s also a gateway in St. Albert where there’s a lot of increasing traffic.”
Schmitt said medical centres located near hospitals have seen increased traffic through the doors. Other businesses, such as pharmacies, are also attracted to buildings that have primary care doctors.
“There’s always a high level of success,” he said. “Health care is very complicated from the standpoint that it’s interdependent. You look at the web of health-care providers and auxiliary users, they all tie together.”
Once constructed, the building will be three storeys tall with an underground parkade.
Mayor Cathy Heron said she was excited about the development.
“Seven years is much too long to get a good idea and a good project off the ground,” she said. “But it is what it is, we’re here to celebrate.”
