December 29, 2025

Local rental housing group offers to purchase the former Markdale hospital from Brightshores Health System

On December 23, Affordable Housing In Grey Highlands (AHIGH) made a conditional offer to purchase the former Markdale hospital from Brightshores Health System for the listed price of $600,000.

Early this year, a group of Grey Highlanders, incorporated AHIGH Inc. as a non-profit to provide our community with strongly affordable rental housing. For two years, they have been planning and consulting with developers and operators of non-profit housing across Ontario. They have assembled a strong team of volunteers and professionals and are now well prepared to commence with their first development initiative.

With a downtown site like this, the group is confident they will be able to access a host of further resources for the design, financing and ultimate construction and operation of a mixed-use, independent non-profit rental housing development. Now, they claim to have the opportunity to ensure that this land remains a community asset and is used to support the healthy growth and long-term prosperity of Markdale and Grey Highlands.

AHIGH intends to secure these lands for future generations, and the immediate development of non-profit affordable rental housing that our community and people need so much. With the hopeful success of their offer, they are rapidly building their capacity to finance the purchase. AHIGH believes many Grey Highlanders are ready to invest in affordable rental housing development. Now, they are working quickly to establish an investment fund to capitalize this project, and look forward to a community bond offering in the near future.

AHIGH is confident that Brightshores understands the value of selling these lands to a local non-profit in the community interest. AHIGH Directors and Mayor McQueen met with them this summer to discuss the opportunities for affordable housing at the hospital site. It is clear that community health objectives are more easily achieved when there is sufficient housing for all. AHIGH is very interested in exploring operational partnerships with Brightshores and other community institutions with roles at the intersection of health and housing. We hope that the purchase of this land will be the first big step forward on their journey to serve Grey Highlands.

AHIGH is:

Reid Dennison, President
Helmut Mayer, Treasurer
Emmett Ferguson, Secretary
Allan Avis
Michael Copeman
Don Kopplin
Cindy Van Wonderen
Robert Walker

 

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