ADDICTION CENTRE TO BE REDESIGNED TO 'ERASE STIGMA'

Stores, Homes To Be Added To Help It Blend Into Queen St.Neighbourhood

This morning, in an attempt to overcome a 156-year-old stigma, the
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is taking the first step in
transforming its image from "insane asylum" to hip urban village.

The hospital is to be integrated into its Queen Street West
surroundings in three phases by 2010, at a cost of $382-million.

"The physical environment makes an enormous difference in how clients
recover," said CAMH CEO and president Dr. Paul Garfinkel. "We're
building a facility that makes clients and neighbours feel more welcome."

Nearby streets -- Adelaide, Fenning and Brookfield -- will be
extended south into the CAMH campus, making room for new business
such as retail stores, coffee shops and even homes.

"The main point is to erase the stigma," said architect Frank
Lewinberg, whose company, Urban Strategies Inc., planned the
redevelopment of CAMH.

"My hope is that people will eventually stop thinking of the clinic
as the 999 Queen Street loony bin, and see it as any other part of the city."

The plan's first phase will see the creation of three client-care
facilities, each with 24 private campus-style residences. These
apartments will cater to patients in CAMH's addiction and mood and
anxiety programs who are past the acute stage of their illness and
need help making the transition back into society.

CAMH is one of the largest addiction and mental health organizations
in North America, with more than 600 beds and 300 physicians. Dr.
Garfinkel said he hopes the number of patients will double with the
completion of the project.

The institution's neighbours said yesterday they look forward to a
time when it blends in with the neighbourhood.

Jo-anne Spencer, who has owned a three-bedroom home on Brookfield
Street across from the facility for seven years, is confident the
hospital's makeover will create a better sense of security for her
eight-year-old daughter.

"I think she'll feel better when she can look across the street and
not be constantly reminded that there is an insane asylum over there.'

Mrs. Spencer said she and her husband carefully considered CAMH's
proximity before purchasing their home in 1999. They eventually
decided buying a home off Queen Street West was a great investment,
no matter who their neighbours were.

"In the end it's not about us," she said. "It's about whether the
clinic is going to be a more pleasant environment for the people who
get treatment there."

Creating a more comfortable environment was Mr. Lewinberg's master
plan. He says the project is particularly close to his heart.

"This project has been a big part of my life for the past five
years," said Mr. Lewinberg, whose recent work includes the
transformation of the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2002.

"It's not just about buildings, it's about making this mental health
facility into a welcoming place for patients to get help."