A rendering of the new hospital that will focus on mental health and addictions. PHOTO: Government of N.L./YouTube
The government of Newfoundland and Labrador has awarded the P3 contract for a new mental health and addictions hospital in St. John’s to the Avalon Healthcare Partnership.
Australian infrastructure firm Plenary Group and St. John’s-based Marco Group are among the more than a dozen companies that will take part in the $330 million building project. The P3 team will be responsible for delivering the new six-storey facility under a design, build, finance and maintain contract.
Dwight Ball, the province’s premier, said the government has made the hospital project a priority since day-one, as part of its new approach to mental health and substance use.
“This approach focuses on better community services, enhanced training for medical professionals and first responders, and a new, modern hospital to serve people,” he said in a release.
The new site will replace the Waterford Hospital, which the government has described as outdated.
Plans for the 240,000 sq. ft. hospital include 102 patient beds and a parking garage with space for about 1,000 vehicles. A new 60-bed hostel to replace the Agnes Cowan Hostel, which is being demolished to make way for the new site, is also included.
The province singled out Avalon Healthcare for the project after nearly two years of procurement. It emerged from a field of three bid teams that were shortlisted for the project at the start of the request for proposals stage last August.
Demolition of the Agnes Cowan Hostel and early site work at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s is scheduled to get underway in the next several weeks. Marco Group, which will take on the design-build work for the new hospital, is expected to begin construction next spring. The parking garage, being built by Newton Group Ltd., will start going up this fall.
The province expects the overall project to create more than 400 construction jobs over the next four years. The P3 team plans to host a job fair, develop an apprenticeship program and develop a plan for hiring tradeswomen as part of the work.
The team is scheduled to hand over the completed hospital in late 2024.
A full breakdown of the Avalon Healthcare team:
Respondent Team Lead and Equity Provider — Plenary Americas LP
Design-Builder — Marco Group Ltd.
Service Provider & Design Builder — G.J. Cahill (1979) Ltd.
Design Lead — B+H Architects Inc.
Local Design Consultant — John Hearn Architect Ltd.
Mechanical and Electrical, as well as Design Consultant — Smith and Andersen Consulting Engineering
Civil Design Consultant — R.V. Anderson Associates Ltd.
Structural Design Consultant — Entuitive
Energy and Sustainability Consultant — S+A Footprint
Acoustics and Vibration Design, as well as Consultant — Rowan, Williams, Davies & Irwin Inc.
Traffic Design Consultant — BA Group Consulting Group Ltd.
Landscape Design — Mills & Wright Landscape
Consultant — Architecture Inc.
Parking Garage Design-Builder — Newton Group Ltd.
