Abbotsford – The site of the old MSA Hospital on McCallum Road is now an active construction site.
On Friday July 25, something went wrong and a water main was cut.
Randie Scott is an Afghan veteran and retired Federal Corrections Executive. He lives across the street from the site.
He told FVN: The huge construction project on the site of the old MSA Hospital has been under significant heavy equipment work for weeks. It is directly across Bevan Avenue from our home. About 2:45 pm a great commotion occurred and we heard construction workers yelling and several big excavators revving up. It is evident that some major water supply line had somehow been breached unleashing a torrent that quickly gouged out a large hole which filled with water. We saw efforts to try and shut main supply lines down as the pool grew. By 3:15 pm they appeared to turn the water off. Now will come whatever must be done to clean the whole area up and deal with the big pond that resulted. Not what the site construction workers were expecting for their end of the Friday work day!
The first MSA (Matsqui-Sumas-Abbotsford) Hospital, known as the Cottage Hospital, opened in 1922 with 14 beds. A larger hospital, also named MSA Hospital, opened in 1953 with 50 beds and 18 bassinets and operatred until 2008 when the Abbotsford Regional Hospital opened. The site was the subject of various redevelopment proposals and was been returned to the Matsqui First Nation in 2020.
In 2024,Abbotsford Council approved a multi-building six-storey apartment development and park.
