New Niagara hospital another step closer
Construction on the state-of-the-art facility could begin in late 2022
Planning for the future south Niagara hospital is taking a significant step forward.
Infrastructure Ontario and Niagara Health announced Friday they are starting the process to find a team to design, build, finance and maintain the project.
Issuing a request for qualifications is the first step in the competitive process for prospective teams to express interest in bidding to help deliver the project on the outskirts of Niagara Falls.
The new hospital is expected to cost more than $1 billion and at 1.2-million square feet, will be larger than the St. Catharines hospital.
Submissions will be reviewed to shortlist three teams with the design and construction experience, as well as the financial capacity, to deliver a project of this size and complexity. Shortlisted teams will be invited to respond to a request for proposals, expected to be released this fall.
Construction on the state-ofthe-art facility, to be built at
Montrose and Biggar Roads, could begin in late 2022 with completion possibly by 2026.
The hospital will include centres of excellence in stroke care, complex care, geriatric psychiatry and aging and wellness. It will have a seniors’ focus embedded into all aspects of the design.
According to planners the project is working toward becoming the first WELL certified health-care facility in Canada, a certification tool to help design buildings and measure/ monitor its impact on the health and well-being of occupants.
Niagara West Progressive
Conservative MPP Sam Oosterhoff, who made Friday’s announcement via an online event, said the good news comes on the heels of the province announcing Monday an investment of more than $15 million to support the planning and design of the new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Grimsby.
“This will help ensure that patients and their families receive the best possible care through the talented and compassionate health-care workers of Niagara Health,” he said. “It’s exciting to see the next generation of health-care technologies being implemented in this new hospital, and I’m confident that residents in Niagara will be well served at this site for many years to come.”
In addition to Oosterhoff, many health and political stakeholders spoke during Friday’s virtual announcement, including Lynn Guerriero, president and interim chief executive officer of Niagara Health, PC MPP Robin Martin, parliamentary assistant to the minister of health, Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates, Niagara Region Chair Jim Bradley, Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop, Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele, and Welland Mayor
Frank Campion.
“This marks a really exciting and critical milestone for the project,” said Guerriero. “We’re all looking forward to putting that first shovel in the ground as quickly as possible, but we want to ensure we have the best-suited build team.”
Gates said he’s “very excited” about the announcement, adding a new hospital in Niagara Falls “is something that we’ve needed for a long time.”
“I’m going to encourage Infrastructure Ontario to please consider using local workers, local businesses (to build the hospital). We have some of the most highly-skilled workers in the province of Ontario.”
Diodati said Niagara has an older population – one of the oldest in Canada – so having “good health care is especially top of mind.”
He noted Greater Niagara General Hospital in Niagara Falls officially opened in 1958.
“If it was a car, it would be called an antique – maybe it would be a classic and it would be towed most places. With Band-aids and duct tape, we’ve kept (GNGH) up and running, and with incredible staff.”