The renovation and expansion of St. Michael's Hospital moved a big step closer today, with the hospital and Infrastructure Ontario's announcement that Bondfield Construction has been awarded the contract to design, construct and finance the project. The first phase of this project is set to include a new 17-storey patient care tower at the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets in Downtown Toronto, as well as the renovation of approximately 150,000 square feet of existing space at St. Mike's. 

St. Michael's Hospital Patient Care Tower & Emergency Department, image courtesy of St. Michael's Hospital

Named the 'Peter Gilgan Patient Care Tower' in honour of the philanthropist housing magnate's $30 Million donation, the new Diamond Schmitt Architects concept-designed addition will provide care for critically ill patients, and will offer a much larger, more modern and inviting space, built to handle the increased volume of patients expected for the coming years. The addition will house five new purpose-built operating rooms capable of being equipped with MRI machines, CT scanners and X-ray machines. The expansion will also include enlarged facilities for orthopaedic surgery, oncology, coronary care and respirology, plus an expanded Emergency Department.

St. Michael's Hospital Patient Care Tower & Emergency Department, image courtesy of St. Michael's Hospital

"The expansion of St. Michael's Hospital is an important initiative, allowing the hospital to better manage high patient volumes in such a densely populated community" said Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. "This announcement is an example of our government's commitment to providing Ontarians with better access to state-of-the-art services that are closer to home."   

St. Michael's Hospital Patient Care Tower & Emergency Department, image courtesy of St. Michael's Hospital

The construction of the new expansion will create several jobs right from the get go when ground is broken this Spring. Approximately 400 workers are expected to be on site at the peak of expansion's construction process. Contract winner Bondfield Construction estimates that approximately 95% of the workers being employed on the redevelopment project will come from within the GTA. Bondfield will design, build, and finance the expansion for $301 million, which will be paid out to them upon substantial completion. Bondfield are guaranteeing a fixed price and a fixed delivery date, with phase one completing in 2018.

St. Michael's Hospital Patient Care Tower & Emergency Department, image courtesy of St. Michael's Hospital

Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure, issued a statement declaring "This significant investment to expand and renovate St. Michael's Hospital will stimulate significant economic development in the local community, and provide high quality healthcare services to Ontarians for many years to come".

St. Michael's Hospital Patient Care Tower & Emergency Department, image courtesy of St. Michael's Hospital

The ground breaking is slated for a date sometime this Spring. Following substantial phase one completion, the demolition of the hospital's Shuter Street Wing and subsequent expansion of the existing Emergency Department, on that site is expected to conclude by 2020.

St. Michael's Hospital Patient Care Tower & Emergency Department, image courtesy of St. Michael's Hospital

Dr. Robert Howard, Chief Executive Officer, St. Michael's Hospital. summed up the institution's intentions. "This building and redevelopment project will transform patient care at St. Michael's Hospital. Everything in the new Peter Gilgan Patient Care Tower has been designed—using the best evidence available—to care for critically ill patients as we seek to become the premier critical care hospital in Canada. We're also looking forward to our new Emergency Department, which will be almost double in size. The current ED sees about 75,000 patients a year, one and a half times as many as it was designed for."

St. Michael's Hospital Patient Care Tower & Emergency Department, image courtesy of St. Michael's Hospital

Additional information and renderings for the project can be found in our dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? You can join in on the conversation in the associated Forum thread, or by leaving a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.