Four years of big progress on our new hospital

It’s hard to believe it’s already been four years since we first started excavation on our new hospital in the False Creek Flats. If you’ve had a chance to visit, you’ll see a flurry of activity with up to 2,000 tradespeople working on site daily. Their focus now: completing exterior façade finishes as well as interior finishes, like drywall, vinyl floors, doors and sinks.  

“In our first year of construction, we dug an extremely deep excavation,” says Kevin Little, senior manager for design and project delivery for the New St. Paul’s Hospital Project. “We excavated about 350,000 cubic meters of material out of the excavation. In year two, we built the structure back up to the ground floor. In year three, we topped off the 11th floor and now the structure is complete. Exterior facades are probably about 80% complete and interior finishes are progressing well.” 

A busy next year ahead 

There’s a lot of work to be done between now and summer 2026 when construction completes, and we get the keys to our new hospital. This summer, crews will start landscaping around the site, which includes an 800m Wellness Walk encircling the campus, and the planting of 200 new trees and drought-tolerant, low maintenance plants. They’ll also finish off road work like sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and of course, interior finishes.  

Once ‘key handover’ happens, we’ll get equipment, technology and spaces ready to use, and get people trained and oriented. Plus, we’ll hire new staff who will help us deliver top-notch patient care right from opening day in early 2027. 

 “2025 will be a milestone year in terms of exterior and interior finishes coming together,” says Clayton Wong, manager for design and project delivery for the new hospital. “We’ll start landscaping this year as well, and you’ll start to see the finished product closer to the end of the year. I’m excited to see how things are going, and I’ll be even more excited once the hospital opens.” 

Learn some fun stats about our new hospital:  

• 6 ambulances can fit in our new ambulance garage adjacent to the entrance of the Emergency Department. Plus, we’ll have additional spaces at grade and in the P2 Parkade with direct access to Patient Transfer and Staff Service Elevators.
• 15 football fields can fit onto our new campus site, almost three times our current Burrard Street site.
• 37 elevators will be available for either public and/or staff use.
• 996 toilets will be manually operated, and wall hung to make them easy to clean underneath.
• 1,711 hand hygiene sinks will be available throughout the hospital for public and/or staff.
• Over 7,000 doors will be installed throughout the hospital.