Construction of the new St. Paul’s Hospital, the largest hospital development project in the history of B.C., reached the topping off milestone this summer.

“We poured the final concrete on the roof and topped out the building this summer; it looks great,” said Kevin Little, senior manager for design & project delivery with the new St. Paul’s Hospital project team. “This is a significant achievement and brings us one step closer to delivering a world-class hospital that will serve our community for generations to come.”

With the hospital now standing at full height of 11 storeys, crews are busy working on exterior finishes and interior drywall and major equipment work for the rest of 2024; then it’s onto interior finishes and landscaping.

“WhiteWater Concrete and Syber Concrete Forming came together to form Trilogy to take on this gigantic project because it was easier for us to combine efforts,” explained Joseph Foley with Trilogy. “There have been lots of long days and lots of hard work, but the end is in sight for our team as we wrap up our work over the next few months. Looking at the hospital now, I’m proud. This is an important building for the community and will serve many generations.”

Currently, 1,400 tradespeople work on site each day, equivalent to the population of a small village like Lions Bay. That number is expected to swell to 1,600 at the peak of construction. By the time construction completes in 2026, PCL estimates that more than 10,000 tradespeople will have worked on the hospital at one time or another.

The hospital will offer general and specialized care, including HIV/AIDS care, chronic disease management services, emergency and critical care, mental health and addictions beds and programs, ambulatory services and outpatient clinics, end-of-life care, Indigenous health-care services, maternity services and community outreach programs.

The hospital will open to patients in 2027.