St. Paul's Hospital site sold to Concord Pacific for $1 billion
Concord Pacific has acquired the old St. Paul’s Hospital site in downtown Vancouver for approximately $1 billion.
The developer and Providence Health Care announced the sale of the 6.6-acre site at 1081 Burrard Street for its future redevelopment potential, after the hospital relocates to the $1.9 billion first phase of the hospital campus in the False Creek Flats.
The property was listed for sale in April 2019, with all proceeds going towards funding the cost of building the new hospital. It is billed as the largest non-governmental contribution to a capital project for healthcare in BC.
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“We’re extremely pleased with this sale,” said Fiona Dalton, president and CEO of Providence Health Care, in a statement.
“It is a unique achievement in Canada that enables us to invest in BC’s health care system while minimizing the cost to taxpayers, and continues to build on our 126-year legacy of compassionate and innovative care, research and teaching.”
Potential redevelopment concepts for the hospital site are still in their infancy, but Concord Pacific is looking to partner with the MST Development Corporation — the consortium of local First Nations developers, the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations — as well as Providence Health Care and the City of Vancouver to “achieve the best development plan and most impactful financial outcome towards the delivery of the new St. Paul’s Hospital.”
“We are honoured to be selected as the successful purchaser of the current St. Paul’s Hospital site,” said Terry Hui, president and CEO of Concord Pacific. “Concord Pacific has created many unique urban master-planned communities across Canada. Vancouver is our home and it will always be the most resilient and desirable city to live.”
St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver. (Shutterstock)
Providence Health Care is expected to select a major construction contractor for the new hospital this fall. Construction could begin late 2020 or early 2021 for a completion of the first phase of the hospital campus in 2026.
The century-plus hospital will remain operational until the new facility is fully ready to accept patients and deliver its wide range of services. There will be a smooth and seamless transition to the new facility.
The new site will have a capacity of up to 548 beds, representing a net gain of 115 new beds. 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.
Artistic rendering of the new St. Paul’s Hospital and health campus at the False Creek Flats. (IBI Group Architects / Providence Healthcare)
The existing Burrard Street campus has a very poor seismic code rating and is a hodgepodge of buildings that are inefficiently merged together and suffer from failing systems. Major additions were made to the hospital in 1931 and 1945, and more recently a 10-storey tower in 1983 and a second 10-storey tower in 1991.
St. Paul’s Foundation still needs to raise $125 million to fund the new hospital. Another $1.158 billion is being provided by the provincial government.
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