Long-term plan to entirely rebuild and expand Vancouver General Hospital | Daily Hive

Long-term plan to completely rebuild and expand Vancouver General Hospital

Existing condition (top) and potential future condition (bottom) of the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) campus. (Vancouver Coastal Health)

Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) — British Columbia’s principal healthcare facility and its largest hospital — will see a drastic modernization and expansion over the coming decades.

Earlier this month, Vancouver Coastal Health unveiled a highly preliminary concept to redevelop nearly the entire VGH campus, demolishing vast buildings and supporting facilities that currently define the hospital and its operations.

This early concept is being used to help develop a formal rezoning application submission to establish the long-term master plan for the campus redevelopment.

According to the health authority, this multi-phased project will replace aging buildings, optimize land use with taller buildings, create new open and green spaces, and improve accessibility and wayfinding. Furthermore, the new buildings will meet future demand from a growing population, changing care needs, and incorporate the latest best practices in healthcare design and operations.

You might also like:

The entire redevelopment would be phased to ensure the hospital remains operational throughout construction.

Existing condition of Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). (Vancouver Coastal Health)

For the first phase, VGH Research Pavilion and an old low-storey structure with bike parking — situated on a mid-block parcel fronting West 10th Avenue, wedged between the 2008-built Blusson Spinal Cord Centre and the Laurel Pavilion building wing with the emergency department — would be completely demolished. This would enable the construction of a new building with additional inpatient bed units to increase critical care capacity an an emergency department expansion, with a bridge connection to the existing emergency department. At this juncture, the hospital’s existing helipad on the lower rooftop of the Laurel Pavilion could potentially be relocated to the rooftop of this new building.

In the second phase, the 1906-built Heather Pavilion — occupying a large parcel of the VGH campus at the southwest corner of the intersection of West 10th Avenue and Heather Street, just to the east of the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre — would be demolished. This would make space for the largest new building on the VGH campus, with both added height and bulk — containing an overall bed capacity expansion and a new logistics hub to support hospital operations. An adjacent site would also see the construction of a new energy centre.

As part of the second phase, various buildings at the northwest corner of the intersection of West 12th Avenue and Heather Street would be demolished and left temporarily vacant in preparation for the future third phase of new buildings. A portion of this parcel was already demolished about five years ago and left vacant.

The third phase would be the most substantial by far. The entire hospital campus fronting West 12th Avenue between Laurel Street and Heather Street would be redeveloped, including the complete demolition of both the 1959-built Leon Judah Blackmore Pavilion (Centennial Pavilion) — a tall and massive cruciform-shaped building fronting West 12th Avenue — and the 1991-built Jim Pattison Pavilion tower and the Laurel Pavilion building with the existing emergency department fronting West 10th Avenue.

Existing condition:

Existing condition of Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). (Vancouver Coastal Health)

First phase of the redevelopment:

vancouver general hospital vgh redevelopment concept

Highly preliminary concept of the first phase of the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) redevelopment. (Vancouver Coastal Health)

Second phase of the redevelopment:

Highly preliminary concept of the second phase of the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) redevelopment. (Vancouver Coastal Health)

Third phase of the redevelopment:

Highly preliminary concept of the third phase of the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) redevelopment. (Vancouver Coastal Health)

Although the Jim Pattison Pavilion tower was built in the early 1990s, only the shell of the structure was complete at the time. The first three levels of this in-patient tower opened in 1996, and the remaining levels opened in 2003 after a donation by the B.C.-based billionaire of the same name helped fund the completion of the interior spaces.

The 299-ft-tall Jim Pattison Pavilion tower was the tallest building in Vancouver’s Broadway corridor — up until the recent completion of the 410-ft-tall The Stories at South Granville Station tower.

The third phase would construct two new major buildings on the footprints of the Blackmore Pavilion and northwest corner of the intersection of West 12th Avenue and Heather Street. These new buildings — connected by bridges — would replace the Jim Pattison Pavilion and add inpatient beds, with the east building’s rooftop potentially used as a secondary helipad. The massive demolished footprint of the Jim Pattison Pavilion would be left temporarily vacant.

Each of the four new major hospital buildings proposed over the three phases is expected to be comparable in height or overall size to the Jim Pattison Pavilion tower — if not even larger.

All four new major buildings would also incorporate multi-level underground parkades.

Currently, VGH has over 1,000 beds, far more than any other hospital in the province. By contrast, when it reaches completion and opens in 2027, the new St. Paul’s Hospital in the False Creek Flats will have 548 beds. Surrey Memorial Hospital has 650 beds. VGH is Canada’s third largest hospital in terms of bed count.

VGH is a provincial-level hospital that serves some of the sickest and most complex patients in the province. Many residents from across B.C. are referred and transported to VGH for intensive and specialized treatment, not just for emergency services and intensive care but also for surgeries, neurosurgeries, transplants, spinal cord injury, trauma, burns, and mental health. It is also a teaching facility for the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Faculty of Medicine.

The health authority emphasizes that, following rezoning approval from the City, it would need to develop a business case and seek both funding and provincial approvals. Each phase could cost multiple billions of dollars, based on the costs of the latest hospital projects. As this is a long-term initiative, the concept may evolve over time, reflecting the ongoing growth and transformation of the hospital. The upcoming rezoning application submission will provide further details.

As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized, the health authority’s redevelopment is in addition to a separate additional proposal by the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation for a site immediately south of the Jim Pattison Pavilion on West 12th Avenue.

At the city block-sized parcel of 900-990 West 12th Ave., the foundation is looking to build two towers up to 329 ft. with ambulatory healthcare, clinical, diagnostic, medical office spaces, and 280 long-term care beds — all totalling 885,000 sq. ft. A rezoning application is currently being reviewed by the City. If all goes as planned with approvals and fundraising, the first of two towers could begin construction in 2027. Upon completion, the health authority would lease the property from the foundation.

900-990 West 12th Avenue Vancouver General Hospital VGH expansion

Site of the Vancouver General Hospital campus expansion at 900-990 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation)

Concept of the Vancouver General Hospital campus expansion at 900-990 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation)

Starting later in 2027, the hospital campus will see drastically improved regional transportation access, when SkyTrain’s Millennium Line’s Broadway extension reaches completion and opens for service. The new Oak-VGH Station will be situated at the southwest corner of the intersection of West Broadway and Laurel Street, just footsteps from the entrance into VGH’s existing emergency department.

Existing demand and anticipated growth generated by the hospital is also driving new hotel developments nearby, aimed at accommodating the overnight needs of patients seeking treatment, their families, as well as visiting researchers and healthcare professionals.

Catalyzed by the City’s Broadway Plan, as a result of new major residential developments, the area around the hospital is expected to see a drastic increase in population growth. However, some sites north of VGH’s existing rooftop helipad see more restricted development opportunities, due to federally-regulated height restrictions for the helicopter flight path.

Site of the Vancouver General Hospital campus expansion at 900-990 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation)

You might also like: