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After teasing a big project update during an earlier funding announcement, Windsor Regional Hospital confirmed Saturday that it is inviting proposals for Phase 1 of the Windsor-Essex acute care hospital — ahead of schedule.
“Today we can confidently tell the residents of Windsor-Essex — this is happening,” David Musyj, hospital project lead and supervisor of London Health Sciences Centre, said in an email to the Star on Saturday.
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In the same statement, Alison Johnson, the project’s manager of communications and community engagement, said Windsor Regional Hospital “is on track to have shovels in the ground for the new state-of-the-art acute care hospital by 2026, if not sooner.
“This milestone demonstrates progress in making the community’s vision for the largest healthcare infrastructure investment ever in the region’s history a reality,” the statement read.
Hospital officials previously said the first tender would go out in early 2025, so the process has started earlier than planned.
The tender for the initial stage — which includes a parking garage; an education, training, and administration centre; and other infrastructure to support future phases — opened on Dec. 19 and will close at the end of January.
Johnson said a request for proposals was issued earlier this year to hire a design team responsible for completing the construction drawings. She added that a separate tender was launched later on to complete the remainder of the project’s scope.
“As I stated this summer at the event celebrating the historic donation by the Solcz family, when Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones hinted at an earlier timeline — they do not pull any punches,” said Musyj.
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“My history with them is when they make a promise, they deliver on the promise.”
In September, while celebrating the record-setting $15-million contribution from the Solcz Family Foundation toward paediatric care at the new hospital, Premier Doug Ford shared his hope for construction on the new facility to begin as early as next year.
During the event, Musyj also dropped hints that residents could soon expect an exciting update regarding the project’s timeline.
The Solcz Family Foundation’s donation is widely regarded as the largest single monetary gift ever made in Windsor-Essex history. The funding will support a state-of-the-art family birthing and paediatric care centre, as well as a paediatric emergency zone in the new hospital.
“Mr. Solcz is smiling down on us today,” Musyj said on Saturday of the late Windsor business leader and philanthropist, who died earlier this month.
Located on a 60-acre site at the intersection of County Road 42 and 9th Concession Road, the new healthcare facility will be more than 50 per cent larger than the combined size of Windsor Regional Hospital’s two current campuses.
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Site preparation for the massive complex is already underway, having begun late last year.
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The new healthcare facility’s cost almost a decade ago was estimated at around $2 billion. Musyj previously acknowledged that the cost is sure to increase due to inflation, but did not say how much higher he expects it will be.
Under the agreement, the province will cover 90 per cent of the hospital’s $2-billion price tag.
The remaining 10 per cent — previously estimated at $200 million — will be picked up by the City of Windsor and the County of Essex, funded through property tax levies that began being collected several years ago.
While the proposal process continues, Johnson said that no further information will be provided until contracts with both the design team and construction manager are in place.
— With files from Trevor Wilhelm
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