The B.C. government has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) to build the new Yurkovich Family Pavilion at Richmond Hospital.

Redeveloping Richmond Hospital will add 113 more hospital beds, increasing from 246 to 359 acute care beds. In addition, medical care spaces will increase throughout the hospital. For example, emergency department spares will increase from 62 to 86 and three operating rooms will be added, bringing the total to 11. Three CT scanners, an MRI and an interventional radiology room will be added to the hospital.

The total project cost is now $1.959 billion, an increase of $1.1 billion since the business plan developed in 2020-21. The price tag has more than doubled with construction cost escalation related to market conditions cited as the primary reason.

Through the alliance RFQ process, Vancouver Coastal Health will shortlist up to three qualified proponents, who will be invited to participate in the next step of the competitive selection process, the alliance development agreement (ADA) request for proposals (RFP) stage. It will determine which proponent will be chosen to lead design and construction.

The RFQ process is expected to be finalized by August 2024 followed by the ADA RFP process, which is expected to take approximately six months. Following this process, the team will embark on the alliance development phase, with the anticipated timeline being one year. Phase 2 construction is expected to start in early 2026 and complete in late 2029.

Demolition of the rotunda for Phase 1 is expected to begin this summer. The Park Centre is expected to be demolished starting in December 2024. Renovations to the Milan Ilich Pavilion for the new cancer care clinic were completed in October 2023.

The entire project is expected to be complete in 2031.