TORONTO - The Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (Toronto Rehab) and Infrastructure Ontario have selected Aecon Buildings, a division of Aecon Group Inc., to build and finance the hospital's major redevelopment and expansion of the University Centre.  

The expansion project will provide facilities designed specifically for adults undergoing rehabilitation for serious injury and illness including stroke, brain injury, multiple trauma and cancer. As well, it will make way for Toronto Rehab's new iDAPT (Intelligent Design for Adaptation, Participation and Technology) research facility, one of the worlds's most advanced rehabilitation facilities that will change the landscape of rehabilitation research.

The University Centre capital redevelopment project includes:

  • construction of a new 13-storey patient care and research tower on the site of the former four-storey south wing
  • further renovations to the existing 12-storey east wing and four-storey north wing
  • more than 17,000 square feet of new and enhanced research space 
  • dedicated education space for the increasing number of students who come to Toronto Rehab to complete their clinical training
  • moving the hospital's Geriatric and Neuro Rehabilitation Programs into custom designed clinical space
  • moving the hospital's Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Program into new and expanded patient care facilities at the University Centre and closing its Hillcrest Centre 
  • a new, more accessible entrance for patients and visitors 

Financing for the Toronto Rehab project is being arranged by Stonebridge Financial Corporation. Project costs will be finalised and released in a few weeks at financial close when all negotiations are completed. Construction is expected to begin shortly after.

“Hospitals are one of the pillars of our communities,” said George Smitherman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. “This project is part of the government's five-year $30-billion-plus infrastructure investment plan, which represents the biggest investment in health care infrastructure in more than a generation.”

“Renewing our hospitals is an essential part of ensuring quality health care for Ontario's future,” said David Caplan, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. “In addition to enhancing rehabilitative care, this project will provide important training and research opportunities for our health care workers of today and tomorrow.”

“We are delighted that a contractor has been named for our redevelopment project,” said Mark Rochon, President and CEO of Toronto Rehab. “We look forward to the start of construction later this summer, and the emergence, over the next three years, of one of the most advanced rehabilitation hospitals in the country. Our redeveloped facilities will allow us to better meet the needs of patients who require our specialized rehabilitation services as well as our ground-breaking research and innovative education programs.”

Toronto Rehab is at the forefront of one of the most important and emerging frontiers in health care today - rehabilitation science. As a fully affiliated teaching and research hospital of the University of Toronto, Toronto Rehab is Canada's largest academic provider of adult rehabilitation services, complex continuing care and long-term care. Toronto Rehab is advancing rehabilitation knowledge and practice through research and education.

Infrastructure Ontario is working with Toronto Rehab and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to redevelop the hospital, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable.  Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to managing some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget. 

This project is guided by principles outlined in the Province's Building a Better Tomorrow framework, which ensures public ownership of core assets such as hospitals, schools, and water and wastewater facilities.

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca  for more information. 

Contacts: 

Laurel Ostfield        
Minister's Office        
Energy and Infrastructure      
416-327-4418 

Jessica Hooker
Infrastructure Ontario
416-327-5325

Carolyn Lovas 
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute 
416-597-3422, ext. 3837 

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