$638 million research centre approved for new St. Paul's Hospital campus

$638 million research and clinic office expansion approved for new St. Paul's Hospital campus

Artistic rendering of the Clinical Support and Research Centre Building at the future St. Paul's Hospital campus in the False Creek Flats. (Providence Health Care)

The main hospital building of the future St. Paul’s Hospital campus in the False Creek Flats is still more than three years away from reaching completion and opening.

But there are already plans to proceed with the second building that will form the broader healthcare campus — formally called the Jim Pattison Medical Campus — just south of Vancouver’s Chinatown.

The provincial government announced today it has formally approved Providence Health Care’s plan to build the Clinical Support and Research Centre (CSRC) building at 1002 Station Street — immediately west of the new main hospital building.

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The CSRC building will be a 12-storey building with 370,000 sq ft of research office and medical clinic space, such as specialty physician practices to complement hospital care.

Providence Health Care’s current research hubs at the existing St. Paul’s Hospital campus in the West End and elsewhere will relocate to the new campus, including the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, BC Centre on Substance Use, Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes, and numerous clinical researchers and programs.

Additional uses and facilities include 3D bio-printing, research data and analytics, corporate services, and a childcare facility for up to 49 kids.

A two-storey, fully glass-enclosed sky bridge from the building’s seventh and eighth levels will provide a direct seamless connection between the CSRC building and the main hospital building.

Clinical Support and Research Centre Building St Pauls Hospital Jim Pattison Medical Campus

Artistic rendering of the Clinical Support and Research Centre Building at the future St. Paul’s Hospital campus in the False Creek Flats. (Providence Health Care)

“This new research centre will help define the future of medicine,” said Premier David Eby in a statement. “We are going to see scientific breakthroughs translated into real-world health care, delivering better services and treatments for patients. BC is becoming a global hub for life sciences and today’s announcement will help us to continue to attract the best scientists and researchers to our province, as well as doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.”

Adrian Dix, BC minister of health, added, “Clinical research and innovation are drivers of excellence in the health sector and lead to improved patient care and treatment. That’s why our government is investing in establishing a world-class research centre in the heart of the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus that will facilitate the translation of scientific innovation and research into day-to-day clinical practice, resulting in improved patient care and outcomes.”

Providence Health Care told Daily Hive Urbanized it expects construction will start in 2025 for completion in 2028. To achieve this project, in 2022, the healthcare operator chose the “Construction Management” procurement model, which it says allows complicated projects to control time, cost, scope, and quality, and enable construction to begin sooner.

This second building at the St. Paul’s Hospital campus will carry a capital cost of about $638 million, with $332 million covered by the provincial government, $216 million by Providence Health Care, $88 million by St. Paul’s Foundation, and $3 million by the ChildCare BC New Spaces Program.

“This innovation hub will bring together patients, physicians, researchers, and academic partners to create sustainable solutions to the challenges that face health and well-being across the world,” said Fiona Dalton, president and CEO of Providence Health Care, in a statement.

st pauls hospital vancouver false creek flats

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

st pauls hospital campus false creek flats 2021

Previous 021 artistic rendering of the St. Paul’s Hospital campus in the False Creek Flats. (Providence Healthcare)

The CSRC building is one of a handful of potential future additional buildings at the future St. Paul’s Hospital campus, based on the City of Vancouver’s approved master plan for the 18.4-acre site. Several medical offices and research buildings could potentially push the total future office/clinic space to up to 800,000 sq ft.

Beyond the hospital, research, and office uses, other future phases of the campus could entail a 140,000 sq ft hotel building and a 71,000 sq ft secured 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 will also be included in a later phase.

The main hospital building currently under construction will be an 11-storey building with 1.2 million sq ft of building floor area. Concrete pouring should reach the seventh floor and the rooftop by the middle of 2024. The cost of the main hospital building alone is $2.2 billion. A future expansion of the main hospital building could grow it to 1.7 million sq ft.

Construction on the main hospital building is expected to reach completion in 2027, at which point the historic hospital site on Burrard Street in the West End will close. In 2020, Providence Health Care sold the existing 6.6-acre hospital site for about $1 billion to Concord Pacific for its major redevelopment potential.

The new hospital has triggered new developments in the area, including heightened demand for office space for medical clinics and research space just outside the campus on non-Providence property.

A new 10-storey, 100,000 sq ft office building just to the north at 220 Prior Street, currently under construction, will be tenanted to US medical tech firm Masimo. Just to the northeast, next to the new hospital’s emergency room entrance, a major mixed-use development at 456-496 Prior Street will incorporate over 300 rental homes and about 228,000 sq ft of office space, including 119,000 sq ft of purpose-designed healthcare office uses.

st pauls hospital new construction november 22 2023

Construction progress of the main hospital building of the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus in the False Creek Flats, as of November 22, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

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