Demolition crews knocked down the 69-year-old annex at Lions Gate Hospital Tuesday, clearing way for a new mental health facility.
Dubbed the HOpe Centre, the new $62-million building will replace the dilapidated Activation building as the home of mental health services, which patients had described as cramped and foul-smelling, with as many as 15 people sharing a single toilet.
Judy Savage, president of the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, said the demolition was a major milestone after months of fundraising for the project.
Its a great way to start the new year, she said. It was significant for so many people who were there to see it that the project was actually starting, because weve talked about it for so many years and weve seen the need for so long.
The foundation has raised $24.4 million out of a final goal of $25 million, with the remaining $37-million cost to be borne by the province.
The four-storey building will house 26 inpatient rooms, each with its own bathroom, along with nine ambulance bays and space to teach 100 medical students and residents each month.
Site clearing will continue until the summer, when construction will begin on the new centre with an anticipated completion at the end of 2013.
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