[Halifax] QE II Health Sciences Centre | ? | 14 fl | U/C

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

I found that quite strange as well.

Yeah. I mean I get why they need to bump temporary parking during construction. Passing by the hospital it seems pretty clear this area (the old CBC building) needs to be used as a staging ground for construction as they dismantle the Robie parade and complete site preparation for the hospital extension.

I'm surprised however that they seem to have a large surface lot (or maybe two level garage?- there seems to be something under the lot in the rendering) in the design. Maybe they are reserving this area for a phase 2 expansion in future... they don't mention the Cancer Care Centre in PR anymore. Surely that won't stay at the Dickson forever?

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

Yeah. I mean I get why they need to bump temporary parking during construction. Passing by the hospital it seems pretty clear this area (the old CBC building) needs to be used as a staging ground for construction as they dismantle the Robie parade and complete site preparation for the hospital extension.

I'm surprised however that they seem to have a large surface lot (or maybe two level garage?- there seems to be something under the lot in the rendering) in the design. Maybe they are reserving this area for a phase 2 expansion in future... they don't mention the Cancer Care Centre in PR anymore. Surely that won't stay at the Dickson forever?

Good point on the Cancer center. There is a second Cancer center that is well underway in Sydney at the Regional Hospital there. That is relevant as the highest demographic of Cancer in N.S. is in Cape Breton.
I would venture that the old CBC lands are going to be a designated land reserve for future QE 2 growth.

[q12]

• Video Link

[q12]

The QEII project will be the largest healthcare infrastructure project ever undertaken in Atlantic Canada.

$7.4-billion cost.

May 2025 tower cranes will be erected and work on the foundation will begin.

Over 1 Million Sq ft. of new space. That's bigger than 3 Dartmouth IKEA stores.

Substantial completion in the fall of 2030

• 14-floor modern acute care tower with 216 beds
• 16 operating rooms
• 48 room intensive care unit
• larger emergency department (2x bigger than current ER)
• upgraded lab and diagnostic
• enable services to be relocated from aging facilities like the VG Hospital and Dickson Centre

[Drybrain]

Someone on Reddit was wondering why the cost for this hospital ($4.5 billion for construction) is twice the $2.2 billion cost of the St. Paul's hospital rebuild in Vancouver, which is slightly larger (1.2 million square feet), on a similarly challenging urban site, has way more beds, and includes a neonatal unit, which I assume this won't since we have the IWK for that.

Not necessarily saying the costing is suspect--there could be very good reasons for the higher cost, and I am definitely no expert on health-care infrastructure costing--but it is curious. I wonder if anyone here has any insight.

I also wish we could get some real renderings, not this autocad-looking graphic.

[LikesBikes]

Wow, I didn't realize how massive this building is going to be.

[HfxGuy]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Someone on Reddit was wondering why the cost for this hospital ($4.5 billion for construction) is twice the $2.2 billion cost of the St. Paul's hospital rebuild in Vancouver, which is slightly larger (1.2 million square feet), on a similarly challenging urban site, has way more beds, and includes a neonatal unit, which I assume this won't since we have the IWK for that.

Not necessarily saying the costing is suspect--there could be very good reasons for the higher cost, and I am definitely no expert on health-care infrastructure costing--but it is curious. I wonder if anyone here has any insight.

I also wish we could get some real renderings, not this autocad-looking graphic.

From the FAQ page released yesterday, the 7.5 B figure appears to include a 30 year maintenance agreement;

"Q5. What is the cost of the entire Halifax Infirmary Expansion Project? The total cost of the project, including the 30-year maintenance agreement, is $7.5 billion."

*just realizing you acknowledged the construction cost is 4.5B. Still working on my morning coffee

[HfxGuy]

https://buildns.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/QEII-Renew-FAQ-15FEB25.pdf

[someone123]

It's interesting to see block after block of active construction along Robie. The Robie transit corridor will have a lot of demand in the future.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Someone on Reddit was wondering why the cost for this hospital ($4.5 billion for construction) is twice the $2.2 billion cost of the St. Paul's hospital rebuild in Vancouver, which is slightly larger (1.2 million square feet), on a similarly challenging urban site, has way more beds, and includes a neonatal unit, which I assume this won't since we have the IWK for that.

Not necessarily saying the costing is suspect--there could be very good reasons for the higher cost, and I am definitely no expert on health-care infrastructure costing--but it is curious. I wonder if anyone here has any insight.

I also wish we could get some real renderings, not this autocad-looking graphic.

I don't have an answer either, but I don't think anybody could really understand with the comparison information being this rough.

Thoughts:
- Rebuild vs new build?
- Function/equipment comparison? More beds don't necessarily equate if the function of the new section is not the same... i.e. other complexes having beds vs Vancouver having all its beds in one complex
- Etc.

I don't really know the details of either project (actually I know completely nothing about Vancouver's), but value assessment seems like it needs a deep dive into the details in order to draw conclusions. This would also include the perceived lifespan of the structure as well as costs of labour and materials between the two coasts.

[Keith P.]

The $7B number was staggering when I heard it. Now learning that includes long term maintenance mitigates that somewhat but also makes comparisons impossible. One thing that struck me was that for the size of the physical structure and the cost, the number of beds seemed smaller than I would have expected. The rendering makes the site look extremely tight and I hope they included several layers of underground parking there. I wonder how long the Museum will stay on its site nearby before it will need to move.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Someone on Reddit was wondering why the cost for this hospital ($4.5 billion for construction) is twice the $2.2 billion cost of the St. Paul's hospital rebuild in Vancouver, which is slightly larger (1.2 million square feet), on a similarly challenging urban site, has way more beds, and includes a neonatal unit, which I assume this won't since we have the IWK for that.

Not necessarily saying the costing is suspect--there could be very good reasons for the higher cost, and I am definitely no expert on health-care infrastructure costing--but it is curious. I wonder if anyone here has any insight.

I also wish we could get some real renderings, not this autocad-looking graphic.

I have some UNOFFICIAL insite as my Brother was included in the ICU planning for the new structure. As an example apparently the Province has agreed to provide the over bed infrastructure for patient movement by moving cranes that can swing over a patient in conjunction with special patient handling blankets that connect to the above cranes. This allows movement and manipulation of patients with far less nurse power (2 vs 6) when turning patients. This investment has been shown to greatly reduce lower back injuries among especially smaller Nurses. Thus extending Nurse careers. The average N.S. Nurse only works as a nurse for 16 years.

Another personal Observation was the point about bringing in workers from out of Province and that perhaps a Hotel would be used to house them . Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls I think the Atlantica just might be a barracks in the future

[Insigne]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

I have some UNOFFICIAL insite as my Brother was included in the ICU planning for the new structure. As an example apparently the Province has agreed to provide the over bed infrastructure for patient movement by moving cranes that can swing over a patient in conjunction with special patient handling blankets that connect to the above cranes. This allows movement and manipulation of patients with far less nurse power (2 vs 6) when turning patients. This investment has been shown to greatly reduce lower back injuries among especially smaller Nurses. Thus extending Nurse careers. The average N.S. Nurse only works as a nurse for 16 years.

I would think this would be standard now for all beds. My mother-in-laws nursing home had them 15 years ago.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Insigne

I would think this would be standard now for all beds. My mother-in-laws nursing home had them 15 years ago.

You would be surprised. The Yarmouth Hospital just finished a renovation to install 12 . Most of Nova Scotia's hospital infrastructure is very old as most of it is Post WW 2.

[Insigne]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

You would be surprised. The Yarmouth Hospital just finished a renovation to install 12 . Most of Nova Scotia's hospital infrastructure is very old as most of it is Post WW 2.

I'm not surprised. My point was that this is not revolutionary and I would think standard for any new build. I should have been clearer. I'm well aware of how decrepit and dated the VG is. Sad that Yarmouth only installed 12.

[Insigne]

Pleased to hear that this is going ahead but does anyone know why Robie Street is now down to one lane northbound at the Willow Tree with no westbound turn onto Robie. Noticed this Friday with Jersey fence in place so assume this isn't temporary.

As an aside this is the penultimate (albeit most economical) "Halifax Box" for the critics amongst us.

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by Insigne

Pleased to hear that this is going ahead but does anyone know why Robie Street is now down to one lane northbound at the Willow Tree with no westbound turn onto Robie. Noticed this Friday with Jersey fence in place so assume this isn't temporary.

As an aside this is the penultimate (albeit most economical) "Halifax Box" for the critics amongst us.

I noticed that the other night too. Surely this is only temporary!?

[terrynorthend]

Lane drops are like this for about a month until mid March iirc.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Insigne

I'm not surprised. My point was that this is not revolutionary and I would think standard for any new build. I should have been clearer. I'm well aware of how decrepit and dated the VG is. Sad that Yarmouth only installed 12.

It was a private donation that funded them.

[Summerville]

The first crane is going up at the QE2 site. I’ve heard that there will be several.