Toronto hospital planning huge expansion with new tower that will transform area

A major expansion is on the horizon for Toronto Western Hospital at Bathurst and Dundas.

The University Health Network (UHN) that operates the facility at 399 Bathurst Street has filed an application calling for the redevelopment of an existing surface parking lot and auditorium on the hospital grounds with a new 15-storey Patient Tower.

The mid-May proposal stems from a provincial Minister’s Zoning Order, or MZO, introduced last year, overriding local planning policy to fast-track the hospital expansion.

Bypassing zoning approval courtesy of the MZO, UHN has skipped the line and applied for Site Plan Approval with the City, among the final stages of the planning approvals process before shovels can hit the ground.

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The tower includes a design from architects Dialog, that, while unlikely to be a mainstay in future postcard views, will dramatically impact the neighbourhood skyline, rising almost 82 metres.

Its appearance might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the new tower promises some substantial improvements for Toronto Western, one that the Ontario government is getting behind in both planning approvals and funding.

In April 2022, the provincial government allocated $38.8 million to expand UHN, the majority ($34 million) earmarked for the new patient tower at the hospital.

At the time of that announcement, then-deputy premier and minister of health, Christine Elliott, boasted that “this investment will ensure patients have access to enhanced surgical services and can access high-quality care for generations to come.”

Those enhanced surgical services would be made possible through 20 new operating rooms, including three new image-guided operation rooms for complex neurosurgical and spinal procedures. UHN expects (as of 2022) its surgical capacity will increase by over 20% in the next decade through the construction of this new tower.

The planned expansion will also introduce several new units and departments to Toronto Western, including a pre‐operative care unit, post-anesthetic care unit, medical device reprocessing department and pharmacy, and an enhanced mental health program.

“This investment will bring the patient tower on the Toronto Western site to reality which will benefit patients and their families by providing a state-of-the-art facility to enable the best care,” said UHN President and CEO Dr. Kevin Smith at the time of the 2022 announcement.