PCL Construction has been selected to build the new St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia. The selection of PCL follows an extensive evaluation of two teams shortlisted in the fall of 2019 to design, build, and partially finance the new hospital.
Construction is expected to begin early this summer. The PCL team includes HDR Architecture Associates and Stantec Architecture. Final terms of the contract are expected to be complete and signed off by the end of February 2021.
“For over 125 years, people in Vancouver and across British Columbia have benefited from the health care provided by St. Paul’s Hospital,” said B.C. Premier John Horgan. “We are safeguarding these life-saving services by taking action to build a brand new St. Paul’s Hospital that will serve more people and offer better access to the specialized care people need.”
Doors of the new $1.9-billion hospital are expected to open in 2026 and will be located at 1002 Station St.
“One hundred and twenty five years ago, St. Paul’s Hospital was established by the Sisters of Providence, and ever since then it has delivered compassionate care to the most vulnerable patient populations in Vancouver and across British Columbia,” says Fiona Dalton, president and chief executive officer, Providence Health Care. “The provincial government’s visionary commitment and investment into the new St. Paul’s will enable us to take this commitment forward for the next 125 years. We will also work with our partners to ensure this amazing project further strengthens B.C.’s position as a global leader in health care, research and teaching.
The new St. Paul’s will continue to provide an internationally renowned, full-service, acute-care hospital and integrated health campus. It will have capacity for up to 548 beds, which includes 115 net new beds. The site 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.
The hospital will also offer a diverse and long list 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.
Health-care workers, researchers, and students will harness the medical tools of the future in the new hospital, with medical projects like immunotherapy, precision medicine, virtual reality, robotics and 3-D printing.
St. Paul’s will continue to be a teaching hospital, training hundreds of University of British Columbia medical students, British Columbia Institute of Technology nursing students and hundreds of other health-sector professions.
“The new St. Paul’s at the Jim Pattison Medical Centre will establish a new standard for health care and for community building. The site offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a hospital that’s purpose built to put people first,” says Dick Vollet, president and chief executive officer, St. Paul’s Foundation.
The project will be cost shared between the provincial government and Providence Health Care. St. Paul’s Foundation campaign fundraising goal for Providence Health Care is anticipated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, with a portion allocated to the new core hospital. Jim Pattison, chairman and CEO of the Jim Pattison Group, has already donated $75 million to the future of St. Paul’s, a historic contribution in Canadian health-care philanthropy. The current St. Paul’s Hospital land at 1081 Burrard St. will be sold, with funds going towards the project.
Featured design image from Providence Health.
