Low priority: Hospital district looks to open its options for Oak Bay Lodge
Published 5:45 am Thursday, March 5, 2026
The Capital Regional Hospital District is ready to start looking at other potential partners as the land where Oak Bay Lodge once stood sits empty since demolition finished in 2022.
With support from Island Health, Kiwanis Pavilion, Victoria Hospice and Oak Bay council to purse a publicly funded campus of care on the Oak Bay site, the board opted to allocate up to $200,000 for a request for expressions of interest from a third party to participate in redevelopment of the site, decided during its March 4 meeting.
“This is an option. It might not be the best one, but it’s an option,” said Scott Goodmanson, mayor of Langford.
It’s been a long road since the CRHD took ownership of the four acres at 2251 Cadboro Bay Rd. in August 2020 once The Summit in Quadra Village project was complete and all patients were transferred.
In 2021, the board engaged community consultation and approached Island Health’s board seeking support to develop the property. Island Health determined it was not a priority to pursue, given the multiple higher priority projects across the Island.
In late 2023, during a joint meeting with the Island Health board chair and senior leadership, Oak Bay council, representatives from the CRHD, and the MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head, it was agreed Island Health and the CRHD would jointly sponsor an economic feasibility study of the site. In June 2023 they opted to have Colliers lead an economic feasibility study that subsequently determined a publicly owned scenario was the best option.
In spring 2025 the CRHD sent a letter to Island Health and the ministries of health and infrastructure outlining the commitment to redevelop. District staff subsequently met with the ministry of health in January to share information and seek incremental operating funding to redevelop the site.
“Staff were informed that the Ministry of Health does not have any additional resources for operating or capital for this site at this time,” reads a staff report.
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In February, Oak Bay council, which has cleared OCP hurdles for redevelopment on the site, sent a letter to the minsters of health and infrastructure asking for a collaborative campus of care model, and pledging support.
“Staff would like to explore the possibility of a third party joining the project in hopes of bridging the incremental operating funding gap and achieving some economies of scale to reduce the overall cost of construction,” the staff report reads. “To do this, staff are recommending a request for expression of interest process, which will allow the CRHD to understand the market, identify interested third parties, and potential innovative approaches to advance a project.”
There is significant interest from public entities to participate in a project, the board heard Wednesday. Both Kiwanis Pavilion and Victoria Hospice – which receive Island Health funding – are interested in potential partnership. Both are currently in aging infrastructure beyond its useful life and have some capital they could bring to the project.
Frustrated with the absence of Island Health, Jeremy Caradonna, a Victoria councillor, was among those who voiced concern over the path, wondering if the economic climate is the best to be seeking such a partnership.
“I find it hard to imagine that some third party out there is going to be willing ot take on a bunch of risk right now,” Caradonna said. He later added, “The partner should be Island Health.”
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Email: christine.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca
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