Search for new K-W hospital location narrowed down to two

A patient in hospital is shown in this file photo.

We’re one step closer to finding out the new location of Kitchener-Waterloo’s newest hospital.

The group responsible for picking the potential site has narrowed down the list to two.

They aren’t, however, identifying them at this time.

The five-person Site Selection Panel has put forward two locations that were approved in April by the boards of Grand River Hospital, St. Mary’s General Hospital and St. Joseph’s Health System.

“The hospitals are now in the negotiation process to secure land for the new hospital, which includes completing due diligence and discussions with the landowners of both sites,” the panel said in a media release posted Friday. “To ensure a fair negotiation process, the site locations and landowners will not be shared until land has been secured.”

They added that negotiations could take several months.

A shortlist of three properties was identified in December 2023. The group said those were then reviewed by environmental experts, planning professionals, lawyers, engineers, members of the Indigenous community and whittled down to two.

Panel chair Carl Zehr said, in an interview with CTV News in January, that the initial three properties met the required criteria – each was at least 50 acres in size.

Further updates on the negotiation process could come later this year.

History of the hospital project

The plan to build a new hospital in Kitchener-Waterloo was announced on June 23, 2022.

“This is really a generational project for this region, both in size and in impact,” Ron Gagnon, Grand River Hospital's president and CEO, said at the time. “It is really exciting that we are building off of a decades-long partnership between the two hospitals to take this next step to help reinforce and build a Region of Waterloo health system.”

The building would include 1,200 beds and a state-of-the-art acute care centre. The hospital also wants to bring in new services, like neurology and neurosurgery, so patients don’t have to travel out of the region for specialized care.

The hospitals also noted the age of both their buildings.

The current plan is to repurpose Grand River Hospital as an ambulatory and urgent care centre, while its Freeport Campus would be modernized and expanded for rehabilitation services.

The future of St. Mary's General Hospital hasn't been announced yet.