Fort Erie seeks help to flesh out town plan for Douglas Memorial
November 4, 2025 at 7:53 PM
The Town of Fort Erie is keeping hope alive that Niagara Health’s Douglas Memorial facility can remain a part of the community.
During Monday’s council-in-committee meeting, town councillors swiftly approved a staff report to move forward with budgeting $100,000 for consultants to help reimagine how the urgent care centre slated to close in 2028 can remain in operation, with the site serving as a local health-care hub.
Formerly a full-service hospital with an emergency department, Douglas Memorial was downgraded to an urgent care centre almost 20 years ago.
With a new hospital being built in south Niagara Falls, the urgent care centre is on the chopping block.
Council approved Monday’s report without any comment. Mayor Wayne Redekop spoke with Niagara This Week on Tuesday morning to explain what the approval to move forward means.
He said hiring a professional consultant to look deeper into the town’s plan will “put flesh on the bones” of the proposal being brought forward, which will need to be approved by the provincial government.
He said the hospital building has been a part of the community since 1931, and the consultant will be able to determine what kind of retrofits need to take place, as well as what human resources would be needed at the site, which was purpose-built to provide health-care services.
The municipality’s vision for the building includes a continuation of urgent care services, a proposed solution to address alternate levels of care, space for transitional and palliative care, community health-care services, allied health and clinical primary care, and post-secondary medical and health-care training.
Residents will often be asked what they are hoping a community hub would offer.
“These are things we’ve identified, and this will allow the public an opportunity to provide some input,” said Redekop.
Town representatives, including Redekop, have met with provincial officials as well as top brass at Niagara Health over the past year to discuss the future of the site.
Potential hub partners have also toured the urgent care centre, said the report.
“We’re hoping there will be one or numerous partners to assist us with various aspects of what needs to be done,” said Redekop.
He said the province would need to give the green light to the municipality’s proposal. He also said the town is hoping Niagara’s hospital system will play a role in the site being transitioned.
“We’re looking to continue to work with them,” said Redekop.
Monday’s report outlined next steps for procuring consulting expertise in the areas of construction, facilities management, health care and government relations to achieve the town’s vision.
The approved funds will cover consultation on the construction and facilities expertise required for the potential adaptive reuse and renovation of the Douglas Memorial site.
Both sets of consultation will be funded from the South Niagara Hospital Reserve, which has a balance of $3.3 million, said the staff report.
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About The Author
Kris Dubé, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Kris Dubé is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter based at Niagara This Week. His reporting is funded by the Canadian government and allows him to report on stories about the communities of Fort Erie and Port Colborne.
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