Doors open on Niagara’s new St. Catharines hospital

Plenary has marked the successful opening of the $759 million St. Catharine’s hospital project following the smooth transition of more than 200 patients into the new state-of-the-art facility.

Delivered on time and on budget by Plenary Health (Niagara), a joint venture between Plenary and Borealis, the new facility offers a full range of acute and critical care, surgical, emergency, mental health and ambulatory services and sets a new standard for healthcare throughout Ontario and across the country

“We are absolutely delighted to see the doors open on this fantastic new facility for the people of Niagara and its surrounding communities,” said Plenary Properties Chief Executive Officer, Mike Marasco.

“With the hospital now operational and caring for patients, we look forward to continuing our close relationship with the team at Niagara Health System on ensuring the successful management of this outstanding facility into the future.”

Plenary Health Niagara partnered with the Niagara Health System and Infrastructure Ontario to design, build, finance and maintain the new facility for approximately 34 years. Construction partner PCL commenced work on site in April of 2009, and was completed on schedule on November 26 2012.

More than 2,500 jobs were generated during construction. At the peak of construction, over 700 workers were on the site daily with over 85 per cent of the trades performed by local subcontractors.

In 2009 the St Catharine’s hospital project received the Council for Public-Private Partnerships’ Award of Merit for Project Financing.

About the project

The 970,000ft, 5-storey acute care community hospital, located at First Street and Fourth Avenue in St. Catharines, replaces two facilities in the Niagara region and accommodates 374 acute care beds, and associated outpatient and support services.

The new facility will serve residents of St. Catharines, Thorold, Niagara-on-the-Lake and surrounding communities and comprises regional services that until now have not been locally available in Niagara, including comprehensive cancer care and facilities to support cardiac catheterisation and longer-term mental health beds.