Windsor's proposed mega-hospital appears to be moving forward.
Infrastructure Ontario, the provincial agency that oversees projects pertaining to public property and real estate, released its 2017 market update Tuesday. On the list is eight hospital projects either in the works or proposed, and one of them is the proposed new Windsor Regional Hospital.
The hospital project has been classified as DBFM by the agency, which stands for Design, Build, Finance, Maintain. This means that each phase of planning and construction will be bundled together and handled by private entities.
The development is slated to begin accepting quotes in 2021, with a request for proposals (RFP) at a time to be determined. Total capital costs for the project are projected to exceed $1-billion, according to Infrastructure Ontario.
A large section of land on County Rd 42 near Windsor Airport has been chosen as the site for the proposed mega-hospital, which is expected to have about 500 beds. Some residents have expressed concern over the site and how it was chosen.
The other healthcare facilities in the province that are named in the report include the West Park Healthcare Centre in Toronto, which has already put out an RFP, and the Orleans Family Health Hub in Ottawa, which puts out a request for qualifications in winter 2018 and an RFP in summer 2018.
A total of $9-billion has been included in the 2017 Ontario budget to move hospital construction forward across the province.