RICHMOND – People in Richmond and surrounding areas are a step closer to a new acute-care tower following the release of candidates shortlisted to advance to the next stage of Phase 2 of the Richmond Hospital redevelopment project.

The three shortlisted teams are:

• Bird Design-Build Construction Inc., Stantec Architecture Ltd., AtkinsRéalis Major Projects Inc., and AtkinsRéalis Canada Inc.;
• EllisDon Corporation, DIALOG BC Architecture Engineering Interior Design Planning Inc., PML Professional Mechanical Ltd., and Houle Electric Limited; and
• Graham Design Builders LP and HDR Architecture Associates, Inc.

“I welcome the announcement of the successful candidates in this competitive RFP process and look forward to seeing the plans to build the new nine-floor acute-care tower at the Richmond Hospital move forward,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “With the largest health-care investment in Richmond’s history, our government is committed to building on local health-care services, supporting patients in receiving the highest quality care and providing an exceptional workplace for staff and health-care providers.”

The Richmond Hospital redevelopment will add 113 more hospital beds, increasing from 246 to 359 acute-care beds. Medical-care spaces will increase, including three more operating rooms bringing the total to 11. Emergency-department spaces will increase from 62 to 86, with three CT scanners added, along with another MRI for a total of two, and an additional interventional-radiology room will be added to the hospital in future.

This RFP process is expected to take approximately six months. Then the team will start the alliance-development phase, which is anticipated to take one year. Phase 2 construction of the new 216-bed Yurkovich Family Pavilion is expected to start in early 2026 and finish in 2029.

Phase 1 of the Richmond Hospital redevelopment is already underway. This includes the renovations to the Milan Ilich Pavilion for the new cancer-care clinic, which were completed in October 2023 with the facility opening to patients on Nov. 27, 2023, relocation of services and the demolition of the Rotunda building. Work on the demolition of the Park Centre is expected to begin in December 2024.

The total project cost is $1.96 billion, an increase of $1.1 billion since the business plan developed in 2020-21, primarily due to construction-cost escalation related to market conditions across all sectors.

Richmond Hospital opened in 1966 and has 246 beds that serve Richmond, South Vancouver and Delta, as well as people using Vancouver International Airport and BC Ferries facilities.

Two backgrounders follow.

Aman Singh, MLA for Richmond-Queensborough –

“With today’s announcement, the people of Richmond and across the region are another step closer to having expanded hospital service and modernized acute care in their community. This is made possible by our government’s commitment to investing in the redevelopment of the Richmond Hospital, which was built more than five decades ago.”

Henry Yao, MLA for Richmond South-Centre –

“With a shortlist of candidates to compete for the design and construction of the Richmond Hospital’s new acute-care tower over the next six months, our government is propelling the redevelopment project forward so people can get high-quality care in a state-of-the-art facility.”

Kelly Greene, MLA for Richmond-Steveston –

“It’s great to see Phase 2 of the Richmond Hospital redevelopment project reach the RFP stage and I know people in Richmond are excited to see the design of the new acute-care tower and for construction to begin as soon as possible.”

Gail Malenstyn, vice-president, Richmond Acute Services, Vancouver Coastal Health –

“We’re excited to proceed with the next step in the design and construction of the expanded Richmond Hospital. This is an important milestone in the redevelopment process and brings us one step closer to providing an even better patient experience. Once built, the hospital will serve as a service hub for the Richmond community and help Vancouver Coastal Health deliver the highest-quality care possible.”

Natalie Meixner, president and CEO, Richmond Hospital Foundation –

“We are delighted to learn about the announcement of the shortlisted candidates for the Richmond Hospital redevelopment project. This is a significant step towards bringing the Yurkovich Family Pavilion to fruition and a crucial milestone. We know our donors and our community will be pleased to hear about this progress.” 

Phase 1:

• Renovations to the Milan Ilich Pavilion, which includes the ground-floor completion and opening of the cancer-care clinic in November 2023.
• Relocation of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine Medical Education Centre was completed in May 2024. The new purpose-built structure is located next to the Milan Ilich Pavilion and is the new hub for medical education, featuring two seminar rooms and a clinical-skills training room equipped with an observation area.
• The psychiatric-assessment unit is estimated to be complete at the end of 2024.
• Relocation of services and demolition of Park Centre, which was home to the cancer-care clinic and psychiatric-assessment unit, expected at the end of 2024.
• The relocation of services and demolition of rotunda buildings, which hosted offices and meeting rooms has been completed.

Phase 2:

• Construction of the new 216-bed Yurkovich Family Pavilion is expected to begin in 2026 and is anticipated to be complete in 2029, with the first patient day planned for January 2030.

Phase 3:

• Focuses on South Tower and Ilich Pavilion renovations.
• Construction of a new mechanical services building and utilidor.
• South Tower level 1 renovations to accommodate loading and logistics, psychiatric emergency, psychiatric in-patient services and integrated protection services.
• Renovation of South Tower level 2 former ICU for medical/surgical inpatients.

Phase 4:

• Ilich Pavilion level 1 renovations to accommodate pre-admissions clinic, cardiopulmonary and neurodiagnostic units.
• Ilich Pavilion level 2 renovations to accommodate programs from North Tower level 5 and other areas.
• New South Tower loading dock.
• Demolish the North Tower and North Power Plant.
• Construction of glazed-corridor connection from South Tower to Ilich Pavilion.

The completion dates for Phase 3 and 4 are subject to the outcome of Phase 2 procurement, which will determine the project schedule for the new tower. The entire project is expected to be completed in 2031.