Construction to begin on $1.7 billion Cloverdale hospital in Surrey in 2023

Exterior of the 2013-built expansion of Surrey Memorial Hospital and its emergency department. (Naturally Wood)

Planning for the new second hospital in Surrey appears to be moving relatively swiftly, two and a half years after the provincial government announced plans to fund and build it.

During a virtual session today with the Surrey Board of Trade, BC Health Minister Adrian Dix provided an update on the project to build the hospital in Cloverdale at 5500 180 Street, immediately south of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University campus.

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Dix said procurement for design and contractor services is expected to begin soon, and this will be the provincial government’s single largest funding contribution ever towards the construction of a healthcare facility.

The BC Budget released earlier this year set aside $1.66 billion towards the cost of building the hospital in Cloverdale.

It will have 168 inpatient beds, an emergency department, medical imaging department including CT and MRI, surgical suite, pharmacy, laboratory, and academic space.

Additionally, the hospital will be integrated with a new cancer centre, including an oncology ambulatory care unit, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, functional imaging, and a new cyclotron.

A development application was recently submitted to the City of Surrey.

Site of the new Surrey hospital in Cloverdale. (Government of BC)

Site of the new Surrey hospital in Cloverdale. (Google Maps)

The hospital will have a total floor area of about 764,000 sq ft, including a childcare facility, and 730 vehicle parking spaces.

Construction on the yet-to-be-named Cloverdale hospital is expected to begin in Summer 2023 for an opening in Summer 2027.

The hospital is needed to accommodate the rapidly growing needs of Surrey’s population. The number of outpatient visits in Surrey is expected to grow from 296,000 in 2016-17 to around 423,000 in 2026-27, the number of emergency department visits is expected to increase from about 153,000 in 2026-17 to about 221,000 in 2026-27, and the number of inpatient and outpatient surgeries is expected to grow from about 47,000 in 2026-17 to about 63,000 in 2026-27.

“With the development process now officially underway, Surrey residents will soon have a second hospital to serve our growing city,” said Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum.

“I want to thank and applaud Minister Dix and the province for taking action on this much needed project. I want to assure Minister Dix that the City of Surrey will do everything in its part to fast track this development so it can be shovel ready as soon as possible.”

In comparison, the only hospital in Surrey — Surrey Memorial Hospital in the city centre — currently has about 650 beds.

The new replacement and expanded St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver’s False Creek Flats will have a total floor area of 1.7 million sq ft, including 548 beds and a number of major provincial programs and referral centres. It will cost $2.2 billion, with $1.327 billion to be funded by the provincial government. Construction on the new St. Paul’s Hospital began earlier this year, and completion is also planned for 2027.

As for other South of Fraser healthcare facilities, the provincial government has also set aside $91 million towards improvements to Peace Arch Hospital. It also has plans to provide Richmond Hospital with a new acute tower with 220 beds, which is currently in the business case review stage. The provincial government previously said the Richmond Hospital renewal would be completed by 2024.

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