Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital - Approval pending
NRU
March 8, 2017
By Andrew Cohrs
As Vaughan’s first hospital awaits final zoning approval, local politicians are optimistic that the development will contribute to improved local health services without unduly affecting on adjacent residential neighbourhoods.
“As the first new hospital to be built in York Region in decades, this is a major step forward in our city’s evolution...Improving access to healthcare in our community is a priority for citizens of Vaughan and our Council. As the City’s population continues to grow, so too does the need for expanded services - that’s why building the hospital in Vaughan is so important,” Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua told NRU in an email.
Regional healthcare provider Mackenzie Health and developer Plenary Health have partnered to lease 14.7 ha of city-owned land just north of Canada’s Wonderland to construct Vaughan’s first hospital. Plenary Health has proposed an 11-storey hospital on the northwest corner of the intersection of Major Mackenzie Drive and Jane Street, and a four-storey parking structure to house 713 vehicle spaces and 120 bicycles parking spaces. The proposal includes an additional 1,109 parking spaces at grade and a
central utility plant to power the hospital. The development will result in over 111,000 m2 total floor space, including the central utility plant. At its tallest, the hospital will be 60 metres high.
On Tuesday, the committee of the whole recommended approval of the proposal’s application for a zoning bylaw amendment that removes a Holding symbol from the property. As a result, the project can proceed in a designated a healthcare zone.
Ward 1 councillor Marilyn Iafrate, who has expressed concern about the impact of the development on neighbouring residents, told NRU that she had wanted more details about the design of the central utility plant. However, she said she is pleased with its design, noting plans for extensive landscaping to screen the hospital from the lowrise neighbourhood to the north.
“We’ve been waiting so long. We’re really excited. It looks like a really nice structure... My real concern is what is going to be facing the homes to the north. Everything I’ve done here is to protect them. I put height restrictions on this building and I am happy that they have come in under the maximum height [of 75 metres].”
Bevilacqua says that the new hospital will create 350 beds, employ 1,800 full-time staff and 100 physicians as well as provide specialised services in pediatrics, obstetrics, mental health and stroke care. Iafrate adds that the new hospital will be accessible to transit with a proposed hub directly across from Major Mackenzie. Moreover, the hospital has been designed to offer specialized services, potentially easing the need for Vaughan residents seek those services in Toronto.
“For the residents in the area who have often had to go downtown [Toronto] for speciality services, they will be getting them here. For example, [the hospital] will be specialising in obstetrics and pediatrics so if you have a high-risk pregnancy you don’t have to drive to the one or two hospitals downtown [Toronto] that deal with that, you’ll be able to get that service here,” Iafrate said.
However, a number of issues still need to be addressed. City staff have asked for a revised site plan that improves the architectural treatment of the parking structure and has called for a reconfiguration of a private road to improve redevelopment and expansion opportunities. Staff also have requested an additional north-south private road to enhance circulation along with improvements to pedestrian connections to the future transit hub. Finally, staff also wants to reduce the potential for pedestrian-vehicle conflicts at several intersections and landscaping improvements around an entranceway in lieu of 35 proposed parking spaces.
