A proponent team has been awarded a contract for the development of Toronto's CAMH Phase 1C on Toronto's West Queen West. Infrastructure Ontario and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have selected a consortium named 'Plenary Health CAMH' to carry out the development of two new buildings within CAMH's 27-acre Queen Street campus, which is bounded by Shaw Avenue on the east and White Squirrel Way on the south and west ends.

Providing a combined total of 655,000 ft² of new space, the two buildings—both 7 storeys tall—will complement the enhanced medical facilities with new retail fronting Queen, while creating new publicly accessible space at street level. The two new buildings will rise on either side of CAMH's existing Queen West facility. 1C East (below, left) will effectively wrap around CAMH's existing Labbatt Family Wing, while 1C East (right) will replace much of CAMH's existing green space—dotted with surface parking and temporary buildings—west of Gordon Bell Road.

Aerial rendering of the CAMH site plan, image courtesy of Stantec Architecture Inc

The companies involved in the 'Plenary Health CAMH' team include Plenary Group Canada and PCL Investments Canada, acting as the developers, with Stantec as architects of record. The design/build contract has been given to PCL Constructors Canada, while ENGIE Services will be the facility manager. Lastly, the Plenary Group will be acting as the Financial advisor in the project. The valued contract of approximately $685 million will be used for payments during construction, payment of substantial completion, and monthly service payments.

Rendering of the CAMH Phase 1C east block, image courtesy of Stantec Architecture Inc

Within the new space, inpatient and outpatient services will be provided, with a total of 235 new inpatient beds planned for the two buildings. Meanwhile, the emergency department will also be relocated to the Queen Street site from the College Street facility—where emergency services were expanded in 2014.

New ambulatory programs will also be implemented, in addition to resource and information facilities, and enhanced research and educational spaces throughout the complex. On the exteriors, site improvements will include significant landscaping, with a more animated public realm planned along Queen West.  

Rendering of the CAMH Phase 1C west block, image courtesy of Stantec Architecture Inc

Anticipation for this next phase of development has sparked excitement amongst the organization. The President and CEO of CAMH, Catherine Zahn, noted that "[t]his will be the largest and boldest phase of CAMH's redevelopment project to date. Two light-filled and environmentally friendly buildings will open the doors to our community even wider. They will create dignified spaces for our patients to receive care and support for recovery."

Aerial view looking southeast to the current site, image courtesy of Apple Maps

Construction is set to begin this coming Fall, and carry through for a Spring 2020 opening. The massing, scale, and brick cladding of the new CAMH buildings are reflective of the newer mid-rise buildings along Queen West, with the facility sure to provide a vital boost to the mental health hospital. With environmental and sustainability factors a strong consideration, the project targets LEED Gold certification.

Additional information plus the new renderings can be found in the project's dataBase file, linked below. Want to share your thoughts? Feel free to comment in the space, provided below, or you can join in the ongoing conversation in our associated Forum thread.