Looking Back as We Move Ahead
- October 2008
- Français
After five years of planning, the Niagara Health System (NHS) is preparing to break ground on the new health-care complex in west St. Catharines in Spring 2009. "It takes a tremendous amount of planning, consultation and the commitment and approval of many to bring a complex project such as this to reality," says NHS Chief Planning and Development Officer Gloria Kain.
"We've been working for most of this decade on identifying the best location to build a replacement hospital for the aging St. Catharines General and Ontario Street Sites in order to provide inpatient and outpatient acute-care services for St. Catharines, Thorold and Niagara-on-the-Lake."
"We are fortunate to be building this brand new, state-of-the-art facility on a Greenfield site as it also provides us with the opportunity incorporate brand new regional services into the building that have never before been available in Niagara; such as radiation therapy for cancer patients, specialty mental health and cardiac care."
To appreciate the programs and services we will be receiving when the building officially opens to patients in 2012, it's worthwhile to look back at where we've been.
"We've been waiting a long time for this opportunity, going back to 1999 when the Health Services Restructuring Commission (HSRC) determined the need for change and investment in Niagara," Gloria recalls. The HSRC directions called for major construction of the emergency departments at the Welland and Niagara Falls sites which has now been completed. The HSRC directions also called for major renovations to the two community hospitals in St. Catharines due to age and to accommodate the new regional services of cancer, cardiac catheterization and tertiary mental health. "As a starting point, we looked at redeveloping the two existing hospitals in St. Catharines (St. Catharines General Site and the former Hotel Dieu Hospital). We quickly found however that renovating two old buildings would cost more than building one purpose built community hospital. This led to an investigation of building a single hospital for St. Catharines on one of the existing sites (Queenston and Ontario Streets). However, because the two hospitals were on small parcels of land with aging buildings, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) gave us the opportunity to explore new locations for a new facility," Gloria explains.
In the early days of planning for this new facility, the NHS Board of Trustees established a principle of development that recognized the hospitals in Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland would remain the foundation of community hospital services for the region, supported by the smaller sites in Fort Erie, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Port Colborne.
Based on the geography of the region, it was strongly maintained by the Board of Trustees that the concept of a single hospital for all of Niagara resulting in the closure of all existing community hospitals was not in the best interests of the public, nor would the MOHLTC likely support or fund such a notion. This position was consistent with the HSRC directions that had recently reviewed the delivery of hospital services in Niagara and had endorsed a role for all hospitals in Niagara.
To start the process of looking at properties suitable to build the new health-care complex, the NHS participated in active discussion with community stakeholders in reviewing appropriate parcels of land based on the following criteria:
- Location – The site must have proximity to highways and be within the St. Catharines/Thorold/Niagara-on-the-Lake municipal boundaries, since those residents will be the primary users of the replacement community hospital. There must be potential for additional highway exit ramps, if needed.
- Size – The site must have sufficient acreage to build and provide parking, and also to be able to expand and eventually replace the hospital on the same property in 50 or more years (Ministry of Health and Long Term Care guidelines).
- Zoning and Official Plan Amendments – Requirement that there need only be minimal changes to build a large institutional structure.
- Servicing – The location must be easily accessible to services such as hydro, municipal water and sewer systems, natural gaslines, etc.
- Access/Transit – Site must be accessible by passenger and emergency vehicles, as well as public transit.
- Constraints and Synergies – An examination of the benefits and restrictions to building on the property needed to be examined.
Greenfield and Brownfield Sites
Because a purpose-built hospital was the only solution, a range of properties were thoroughly examined. Greenfield sites are land devoid of previous major development, such as large buildings or industrial activity. Brownfield sites usually refer to former industrial land, which may contain buildings and former industrial activities.
In any construction, greenfield sites are preferred due to the ease of preparing the site for footings, water and sewer lines, etc. Brownfield sites usually require extensive environmental rehabilitation to the soil, which can be extremely costly.
"We carefully examined what was available within St. Catharines, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Thorold, since that is the primary catchment area for the new community hospital," Gloria says.
BLS Planning and Associates developed, in their first report, a full assessment of one dozen available greenfield and brownfield sites. Based on community consultation and feedback, another dozen greenfield and brownfield sites were reviewed, including a very careful look to place the facility at the Highway 406 and 20 intersection, Brock University or the Glendale Industrial Area (near the QEW and Garden City Skyway).
"The 23 properties were recommended to us by municipal staff from all three affected municipalities, as well as private sector recommendations," adds Gloria. Click HERE to see the assessment and locations of all the properties that were reviewed.
"The land near Brock University ranked well in our review, however, after conducting community consultation, Brock University had already determined uses for the property to manage the growth they were experiencing and anticipating," Gloria explains. In addition the land posed problems in terms of accessibility and lack of available infrastructure. "In short, the land did not rank as well and was not available for purchase."
"We also gave considerable attention to the properties near the intersection of Highway 406 and 20," Gloria says. "The only criteria that this location met were access to highway routes and size of the parcel. Of great concern was the lack of services available and complete lack of proximity to any urban population. Only three per cent of the catchment population to be served by the community hospital lives within 5 km of this location."
Ultimately, the choice was clear – the greenfield space at First Street and Fourth Avenue within the urban boundary of St. Catharines met all but the zoning criteria and was the best solution.
This location provides:
- 40 acres
- Accommodates full program and future growth
- Ample space for surface parking
- Accessible by Hwy 406, QEW, St. Paul Street, Fourth Avenue and Welland Avenue
- Good proximity to population core of St. Catharines, Thorold and NOTL
- Well-serviced
- City Bus Depot (Transport Base) across the street
- Clean soils and flat surface
The consultation involved in this process did not end with the site selection.
"During and after our review process, we conducted over 20 public proceedings to allow for the City of St. Catharines and Niagara Region Official Plan amendment and bylaw amendments for the greenfield site chosen," Gloria recalls. "The NHS openly discussed the selection process and answered all public concerns regarding the siting of the new hospital. Part of the official plan amendment and bylaw process includes the right of appeal by any individual. The site was never appealed."
By October 2003, it was all systems go and the location of the new health-care complex at First Street and Fourth Avenue on the former Hunt property was officially announced. The minor amendments were granted without appeal in June 2004, allowing the property to be rezoned from Major Industrial to Major Institutional.
Following that, in September 2005, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Renewal announced the project as the first Design Build Finance Maintain project under the Province of Ontario's Alternate Financing and Procurement (AFP) model.
"Soon to come will be the exciting process of seeing all this hard work come to fruition," Gloria says with a smile. "With our partners Plenary Health and Infrastructure Ontario, we are building a state-of-the-art facility to better serve our community for today and for the future."
Once a final contract is reached, the NHS will work closely with Plenary Health to finalize design and ensure the necessary permits and approvals are in place to commence construction. Site preparation and groundbreaking will take place this fall, with full construction starting shortly after. Substantial construction completion, when the building is ready to be operationalized, is targeted for 2012.
As more project milestones are reached, the NHS will continue to offer public sessions and presentations to ensure accurate information is provided and public questions can be addressed.