Redevelopment plan for Vancouver's old St. Vincent's Hospital site

This is the redevelopment plan for Vancouver's former St. Vincent's Hospital site

Conceptual artistic rendering of the long-term care facility at the former St. Vincent's Hospital site at 749 West 33rd Avenue, Vancouver. (DYS Architecture/Providence Health Care)

Nearly two decades after the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital, there are now some refined details on the plans to provide its former site with major new healthcare-related uses in the near future.

Providence Health Care has submitted its zoning text amendment application to the City of Vancouver to build a major long-term care facility for seniors at the 7.5-acre former hospital site at 749 West 33rd Avenue.

The former hospital site is at the northwest corner of the intersection of West 33rd Avenue and Heather Street — immediately south of the BC Children’s Hospital main campus, north of the Indigenous-owned Heather Lands redevelopment of the old BC RCMP headquarters, and west of Queen Elizabeth Park.

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The plan is to develop a large vacant middle parcel of the site into a 13-storey building with 240 beds of long-term care, with residents grouped into “homes” of 12 seniors each. Each floor will have two homes, with the homes consisting of not only the resident bedrooms but also shared common and social spaces.

As a lesson from the pandemic, single-occupancy bedrooms and small households will help improve resident safety by compartmentalizing infection control and outbreak management strategies.

749 West 33rd Avenue Vancouver St Vincents Hospital Long Term Care Facility

Site of the long-term care facility at the former St. Vincent’s Hospital site at 749 West 33rd Avenue, Vancouver. (DYS Architecture/Providence Health Care)

Former site of St. Vincent’s Hospital at 749 West 33rd Avenue, Vancouver. (City of Vancouver)

Conceptual artistic rendering of the long-term care facility at the former St. Vincent’s Hospital site at 749 West 33rd Avenue, Vancouver. (DYS Architecture/Providence Health Care)

“The model of care is to create a domestic setting that focuses on achieving more independence for the residents. All dining will be within each home. Portions of their meals may be prepared within the home itself. Each home will incorporate generous balcony terraces so residents can enjoy an outdoor experience in a safe environment,” reads the application designed by DYS Architecture.

“The development of a Long-Term Care Home on the St. Vincent’s Heather property maintains a long-standing tradition of providing for the health care needs of the community.”

This new long-term care facility with the latest contemporary design standards will replace 126 existing beds at Holy Family Hospital at 7801 Argyle Street in South Vancouver, and 99 existing beds at Mount St. Joseph Hospital in Mount Pleasant. Based on the replacement numbers, the new facility will produce a net gain of 15 bed spaces.

Additionally, there will be a 3,200 sq ft multi-purpose room for resident activities, a cafe for both residents and staff and a 5,400 sq ft childcare facility for up to 37 kids will be incorporated into the lower level.

Conceptual artistic rendering of the long-term care facility at the former St. Vincent’s Hospital site at 749 West 33rd Avenue, Vancouver. (DYS Architecture/Providence Health Care)

There will also be an adult day program with a community hall, faith/sacred space, exercise and therapy space, dental and primary-care services, and a hair salon. The long-term care facility building will have a total floor area of about 226,000 sq ft.

Immediately to the north of the long-term care facility footprint, the application seeks to develop the large surface vehicle parking lot for two secured purpose-built rental housing buildings of six storeys and 13 storeys.

Significant landscaped public realm spaces will create an integrated area for both existing and future buildings on the former hospital campus.

Conceptual artistic rendering of the long-term care facility at the former St. Vincent’s Hospital site at 749 West 33rd Avenue, Vancouver. (DYS Architecture/Providence Health Care)

The provincial government formally announced its plans to build the new long-term care facility in March 2023, with the latest provincial budget allocating $207 million towards the project. Providence Health Care, in partnership with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, is providing the land.

Construction is timed to begin in Fall 2025 for completion in Fall 2028.

St. Vincent’s Hospital first opened at the 7.5-acre property in 1939, and after multiple expansions, it grew into a 500-bed hospital complex with an emergency room, acute medical/surgical facilities, psychiatric and chronic services, and outpatient and diagnostic support services.

In 2004, Providence Health Care closed St. Vincent’s Hospital and relocated its acute care services to its Mount St. Joseph Hospital, and St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver.

Aerial of St. Vincent’s Hospital before its demolition at 749 West 33rd Avenue, Vancouver. (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver)

Shortly after the hospital buildings were demolished in 2005, Providence Health Care received approval from the municipal government on its long-term master plan of redeveloping the vacant hospital site into a campus of care for the elderly in multiple phases. It envisioned multiple buildings reaching up to six storeys with a combined total floor area of about 400,000 sq ft.

In 2008, the first building of the new campus reached completion at the southeast corner of the site — a four-storey building, now known as St. Vincent’s Honoria Conway-Heather. It is an assisted living facility with 60 one-bedroom assisted living apartments for seniors.

In 2014, the archdiocese completed its new four-storey headquarters, known as John Paul II Pastoral Centre, at the southwest corner of the property, replacing its longtime headquarters at 150 Robson Street, which has been sold for its redevelopment into a high-rise tower with condominiums and a hotel.

Immediately to the south, the Heather Lands, the 21-acre former BC RCMP headquarters campus, will be redeveloped by MST Development Corporation and Canada Lands Company into 2,600 homes for up to about 5,000 residents in towers up to 28 storeys. The Heather Lands’ retail cluster — 125,000 sq ft retail, restaurant, and office space — will front East 33rd Avenue, just across from the St. Vincent’s site.

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