An offer to provide $4 million in bridge financing is being made to Cassellholme from the City of North Bay.
This after Council unanimously supported a motion that came out of a three-hour special in-camera meeting Thursday.
The city says the loan would allow the planned redevelopment of the long-term care home to go ahead without incurring significant additional costs.
“North Bay City Council has always been supportive of the redevelopment of Cassellholme and we’re pleased to be able to provide this bridge financing solution,” said Deputy Mayor Tanya Vrebosch. “Moving a project of this magnitude ahead requires cooperation and collaboration. This financing will provide cost savings for all parties.”
“The Cassellholme Board of Management has chosen to levy its member municipalities in order to fund the redevelopment project,” states a release. “The City of North Bay’s total share of the project is approximately $87 million, with its first payment of approximately $26 million due on Jan. 10, 2022.”
The city says the bridge financing solution will allow the redevelopment to proceed while providing all member municipalities the necessary time to confirm their support for a more cost-effective financing solution that has been proposed by the City of North Bay.
“I am still very much in favour of the solution that we have put forward,” said Mayor Al McDonald. “It would allow the redevelopment project to move forward in the most cost-effective way by allowing Cassellholme to borrow from Infrastructure Ontario and be in a position to take advantage of the province guaranteeing its portion.”
McDonald also says the proposal would also address the governance issues that have been raised by a number of former board members.
