Ontario Construction News staff writer
Torontoโs SickKids Hospital is preparing to start construction of two major buildings, the first of which will break ground this October.
The first structure, the Patient Support Centre, will house the SickKids Learning Institute with 1,200 world-class trainees, a Simulation Centre for hands-on teaching, and provide 6,000 professionals, management and support staff with up-to-date spaces to do their best work, the hospital says in a statement.
โThe second building, the Peter Gilgan Family Patient Care Tower, will house critical care and inpatient units. It will reflect the very latest in medical design: private one-family rooms, dedicated mental-health beds, a state-of-the-art blood and marrow/cellular transplant therapy unit, specialty operating theatres, advanced diagnostic imaging facilities, and a vastly expanded emergency department,โ SickKids said in a news release announcing a $100 million contribution from the Peter Gilgan Foundation, which it described as the itโs largest-ever contribution.
In 2017, the hospital said it had closed a $300 million offering of series B Senior Unsecured Debentures, to finance the hospitalโs multi-year infrastructure transformation project.
B & H Architects has designed the new 22-storey patient support centre, and PCL will build the structure. Engineering consultants include Entuitive and The Mitchell Partnership.
โSickKidsโ current infrastructure is not meeting the needs of todayโs patients,โ Dr. Michael Apkon, the hospitalโs president and CEO, said in 2017. โTo address both current and future needs, we require spaces that are flexible, accommodate evolving technologies, and take into account rising hospital patient activity and acuity.โ
โWe are at an important crossroads. Investments in physical infrastructure are urgently needed to ensure Ontarioโs children receive the best care available. Our investors will play an integral role in addressing todayโs challenges while bringing our future vision to life.โ
Crews are currently demolishing the eight-storey Elizabeth McMaster Building at Elm and Elizabeth Streets (built in 1982), to make room for the Patient Support Centre at 175 Elizabeth St.