The Redevelopment of Royal Columbian Hospital
The redevelopment of Royal Columbian Hospital is transforming one of British Columbia’s leading critical care hospitals through a multi-phase, multi-year project designed to support the future of specialized care.
A major milestone in this transformation was reached on May 31, 2026, with the opening of the Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower. The new tower is helping reshape the experience of care for patients, families, and care teams through modern patient spaces, advanced technology, and purpose-built environments that support complex and specialized care.
As a provincial leader in cardiac care, trauma services, neurosciences, high-risk obstetrics, and neonatal intensive care, Royal Columbian Hospital serves a population equal to one-third of British Columbians. Redevelopment is helping ensure the hospital can continue to meet the growing and evolving needs of patients across the region and province for generations to come.
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DonateJim Pattison signs a beam to be placed in the new Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower
This $30-Million donation, announced in 2022, has helped transform how critical care is delivered in BC, and ensured patients have the exceptional care they deserve.
With a larger footprint, the Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower features substantial upgrades in cutting-edge technologies, so healthcare teams can continue to respond to the needs of patients in their most urgent, life-altering moments and deliver the best possible outcomes.
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Redevelopment Phase One: Mental Health Expansion (2016-2020)
Budgeted at $258.9 million, phase one launched the hospital's transformation and includes:
- A new 75-bed mental health and substance use wellness centre with new and expanded outpatient clinics, Fraser Health’s first older adult psychiatric unit, and a psychiatric high acuity unit, all to replace the former 30-bed Sherbrooke Centre
- A new energy centre to replace the aging power plant and tie into the city’s future district energy centre
- New parking, including a 400+ stall underground parkade
- Moving the heliport to Columbia Tower’s roof, away from future construction cranes
- An advanced IT fibre optic and utilities pathway that ties into city infrastructure and enables advanced health care technologies.
Phase Two: Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower (2020-2026)
This phase adds 50 per cent more beds to Royal Columbian Hospital, from 446 to 675.
The Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower marks a new era of care at Royal Columbian Hospital. Opened on May 31, 2026, the new tower expands the hospital’s ability to provide advanced, specialized care for patients from across British Columbia.
The new tower includes a modern emergency department, dedicated medical imaging within the emergency department, private patient rooms, expanded intensive care units, and thoughtfully designed spaces that support patients, families, and care teams. Additional specialized programs and services will continue opening in phases as the hospital’s transformation progresses.
Designed to support some of the province’s most complex and time-sensitive care, the tower strengthens Royal Columbian Hospital’s role as a leading centre for cardiac care, trauma, neurosciences, high-risk obstetrics, neonatal intensive care, and other specialized services.
The Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower was made possible through an extraordinary collaboration involving healthcare professionals, planners, construction teams, government partners, and thousands of donors who helped support equipment, technology, patient spaces, and innovations that are helping shape the future of care.
Next phase: Expanding Capacity
With the Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower open, the focus shifts to upgrade and add capacity to areas in the existing Health Care Centre and Columbia Tower that support the beds and services added in phase two. This includes:
With the Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower now open, redevelopment at Royal Columbian Hospital continues with upgrades planned for the existing Health Care Centre and Columbia Tower buildings to support the expanded beds, programs, and services now operating across the hospital campus.
The next phase of redevelopment will help ensure Royal Columbian Hospital can continue to meet the growing and evolving needs of patients, families, and care teams. This work will help ensure Royal Columbian Hospital continues to evolve alongside the growing needs of patients, families, and care teams while supporting the future of specialized care in British Columbia.
