Another Step in Halifax Infirmary Expansion

Preparations for the expansion of the Halifax Infirmary site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre continue to move forward, as part of the QEII New Generation project.

As part of the parking strategy, a tender to build a replacement parkade directly across from the Halifax Infirmary on Summer Street was issued today, Jan. 28.

The existing parkade on Robie Street will be torn down to allow for the construction of a new inpatient centre which will be home to more hospital beds and operating rooms. The replacement parkade is necessary before construction starts on the hospital site, as it will replace about 800 spaces lost when the existing parkade comes down.

The parkade will have up to 900 parking spaces and sit on the current parking lot of the Museum of Natural History. A small portion of land, about a half-acre, owned by Halifax Regional Municipality is needed to build the replacement parkade. This will not be built on recreational space.

Work is already underway on a temporary parking lot on the other side of the museum to replace the spaces lost as a result of the new construction.

About 2,700 parking spaces are needed based on a parking study conducted for the province. To meet the future parking needs, the parking strategy also includes underground parking at the new cancer centre, inpatient centre and outpatient centre buildings and the use of existing lots on the Halifax Infirmary site.

The parkade tender closes March 5.

A fact sheet on parking is available at: https://healthredevelopment.novascotia.ca/updates/halifax-infirmary-expansions-parking .

Quick Facts:

• 14,000 people visit the QEII Health Sciences Centre every day, 40 per cent of whom travel from outside HRM
• 92 per cent of hospital visitors either drive or are driven to the hospital and park on-site
• the expansion of the Halifax Infirmary site involves constructing 1.4 million square feet of new space, which includes the construction of a new cancer centre, outpatient centre, research and innovation centre, and an expanded inpatient centre (hospital beds and operating rooms)
• there has been ongoing discussion about parking with the municipality since April 2019 and the matter will be referred to Regional Council in the coming weeks
• this work will support the eventual closure of the Centennial and Victoria buildings on the Victoria General site of the QEll Health Sciences Centre in Halifax
• the QEII New Generation project is the largest health-care infrastructure project in the province’s history

Additional Resources:

Details on the tender are available at: http://novascotia.ca/tenders/tenders/ns-tenders.aspx

For more information on the QEII New Generation project, go to: https://healthredevelopment.novascotia.ca/