The Ottawa Hospital unveils designs for $2.8-billion Civic campus

The Ottawa Hospital showed a first look at plans for its new $2.8-billion Civic campus on Tuesday morning.

The new site, set to open to the public in 2028, will be built just down Carling Avenue from the existing Civic campus, coming to a head at Preston Street and Prince of Wales Drive.

The 2.5-million-square-foot facility’s main building will see two towers of 11 storeys and seven storeys connected by a central atrium. Emergency care will be one floor below grade, while acute care will occupy the west wing and critical care beds will be in the eastern-facing tower.

Additional buildings with clinical, educational and research functions will be built on the lower portion of the campus.

The campus will be integrated into the nearby Experimental Farm and Dow’s Lake areas, with access via numerous roadways and a covered walkway connecting the hospital to the forthcoming light-rail transit station as part of Stage 2 LRT.

The main access to the site from Carling Avenue will see an underground entrance take patients directly to emergency care and a cul-de-sac approach for non-emergency visits. Ambulance access would be primarily from the rear of the building.

Traffic impacts from the new Civic campus will be studied and presented to the city for consultation this coming summer.

Construction on early works such as a parking garage on the site could begin as soon as next year, with fulsome development on the project starting in 2024.

The Ottawa Hospital has submitted the initial designs as part of its Stage 2 proposal to the Ministry of Health and is expecting sign-off on the project this summer.

The Ontario government is covering $2.1 billion of the costs. A portion of the remaining shortfall is expected to be covered by a $400-million fundraising campaign.

More to come.