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Earlier this week, Infrastructure Ontario (IO) announced that a team had been selected for the design, build and financing of the first phase of redevelopment for the former Toronto East General Hospital, now known as Michael Garron Hospital (MGH). The result of a competitive procurement process overseen by a third party fairness advisor, the $411 million fixed-price contract was awarded to EllisDon Infrastructure MGH Inc. This team includes developer/design-builder EllisDon, with B+H Architects and Diamond Schmitt Architects handing the project's design in a joint venture.
The project will bring a new eight-storey patient care tower to the south end of the site, with a three-storey connection to the existing hospital. In total, 550,000 ft² of new space will be introduced while renovating 100,000 ft² of the existing hospital. This includes the replacement of the facility's oldest beds in the medical/surgical and rehabilitation units as well as mental health inpatient units, the consolidation of ambulatory care and ambulatory procedures, and the creation of two levels of underground parking and a new main entrance.
A double-height, glass-enclosed lobby would extend across the patient care tower podium, connecting it with the rest of the complex. The lobby will look out onto a large landscaped park fronting onto Coxwell Avenue, though this would come at a cost, replacing the existing hospital's Streamline Moderne-style main frontage. This outdoor space will be complemented by outdoor roof terraces for use by patients and staff.
“An interaction between interior and exterior did not exist previously as there was a lack of landscaped space,” reads a prepared statement from Sydney Browne, Principal at Diamond Schmitt Architects. “In addition to the positive reinforcement that access and views to nature can have for recovering patients, setting the new entrance back from the street where there now will be park space addresses the hospital expansion in the context of its community setting.”
A ground breaking ceremony for the LEED Silver redevelopment is expected to take place in April. In the meantime, you can review project facts and images by visiting our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.
