Three companies have been shortlisted to design, build and finance the construction of "St. Michael's Hospital 3.0", which includes a new 17-storey patient care tower and the renovation of 150,000sf of existing space.

The hospital, which will remain publicly owned and controlled, is working with Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care on the renewal project.

Preliminary rendering of St.Michael's Hospital Expansion, courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects

Five new operating rooms will be added, each with cutting edge medical imaging equipment. These hybrid rooms will allow surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures and open surgery in the same space.

Redevelopment work will provide enlarged, improved inpatient facilities for orthopedic surgery, oncology and respirology as well as critical care space for the coronary and medical-surgical units.

The current emergency department will also be expanded to accommodate the growing numbers of patients, now more than 70,000 a year. "Renovations to the Emergency Department will provide the proper space to be both a downtown trauma centre and a local hospital for a diverse and changing inner city population", said Dr. Robert Howard, Chief Executive Officer, St. Michael’s Hospital. "State-of-the-art technology and design will improve safety, patient outcomes and patient experience.”

In 2011, Diamond Schmitt completed the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, a nine-storey research and education facility connected to St. Michael's Hospital by a striking glass and steel pedestrian bridge which serves to symbolize this collaborative coming together of disciplines. 

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2014. Check the UrbanToronto dataBase entry, linked below, for more project information. Want to get in on the conversation? Choose the associated Forum thread link, or leave your comments on this page.