800,000 sq ft research centre moving forward at new St. Paul's Hospital campus

2021 artistic rendering of the St. Paul's Hospital campus in the False Creek Flats. (Providence Healthcare)

Planning activities on the second phase of the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus in the False Creek Flats are now advancing, after the provincial government and Providence Health Care announced Wednesday that they have made a shortlist inviting select teams to design and build the complex.

This second phase differentiates from the first phase of building a $2.2-billion new replacement and expanded hospital facility on the east side of the 18.4-acre site, just north of SkyTrain Main Street Station, which began construction this past spring.

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The work now proceeding in procurement focuses on the clinical support and research centre immediately west of the main hospital building. Several office buildings would contain a combined total floor area of about 800,000 sq ft (200,000 sq ft more than previously planned), including one building connected to the 1.7 million sq ft hospital building by a double storey enclosed sky bridge.

st pauls hospital vancouver false creek flats

2021 rendering showing the final design of the new St. Paul’s Hospital. (Providence Health Care)

The centre complements the hospital by including space for an innovation centre, research and teaching programs, independent clinical researchers, infrastructure for emerging technology, research data and analytics, medical offices for doctors and specialists, and a childcare facility with a capacity for up to 49 kids.

The teams invited to proceed in the request for proposal (RFP) bidding competition are Greystar Canada Real Estate, Oxford Properties, and NorthWest Healthcare Properties. The RFP will be issued to these teams in early 2022, and a successful proponent will be selected in the summer.

“This new state-of-the-art facility will be the cornerstone of Vancouver’s newest hub for research and innovation,” said Fiona Dalton, president and CEO of Providence Health Care, in a statement.

“The clinical support and research centre will bring together Providence’s patients, physicians, researchers, clinicians, corporate staff and leaders, along with industry players, academic partners and startups into one place to share ideas, collaborate on discoveries and innovate new medical advancements that will change the world.”

Artistic rendering of the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus and the public plaza. (Providence Healthcare)

Dick Vollet, CEO of St. Paul’s Foundation, adds that their fundraising efforts will aim to achieve a target of $50 million to support the construction costs of the clinical support and research centre. This is in addition to the $225 million the foundation is raising specifically for its share of the construction costs for the hospital building.

Providence Health Care will earn $850 million from the sale of the Burrard Street hospital campus to Concord Pacific, and possibly almost an additional $150 million from the maximized redevelopment potential of the site. All proceeds will go towards covering the costs of the new campus.

No construction cost estimate has been provided for this second phase of the campus; the cost depends on the outcome of the bidding process and negotiations with the private development partner.

The building form and planning framework for the second phase is already identified by the City of Vancouver’s approved master plan for the entire campus.

Additional phases would entail the construction of a 140,000 sq ft hotel building, and a 71,000 sq ft rental housing building for healthcare workers. All of the various phases also have a combined total of about 45,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant spaces to support the needs of workers. A second on-site childcare facility is also included in a later phase.

2021 rendering showing the final design of the new St. Paul’s Hospital. (Providence Health Care)

st paul's hospital false creek flats lights of hope

Artistic rendering depicting an event-friendly plaza design for Lights of Hope and other programming at the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus. (Providence Healthcare)

Excavation is well underway at the new St. Paul’s Hospital site in the False Creek Flats, near #SkyTrain Main Street-Science World. There seems to be a bit of drilling activity too. #vanpoli #vanre #vancre pic.twitter.com/lNrc6uXwqa

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) August 15, 2021

PCL Construction is responsible for building the first phase, the main hospital building, which is slated to open in 2027. There will be 548 beds, representing a net gain of 115 beds from the existing Burrard Street campus. It will be the home of several leading provincial programs and referral centres, including for heart and lung care, renal, eating disorders and specialty surgeries and transplants.

In addition, it will offer a diverse range of general and specialized care, including HIV/AIDS, chronic disease management services, emergency and critical care, mental health and addictions beds and programs, ambulatory services and outpatient clinics, end-of-life care, Indigenous health, maternity, colorectal and gastrointestinal services, and community care and community outreach programs.

Upon full completion of the entire new St. Paul’s Hospital campus, it is expected the various buildings will support over 10,000 jobs on-site. The existing historic hospital on Burrard Street is expected to close in 2027, shortly after the new hospital is fully operational.

A number of other building proposals with office spaces by other developers are also proposed for properties immediately outside of the Providence-owned campus site, acting on the forecasted high demand for office space near the hospital.

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