A new mental health facility planned for Vancouver General Hospital received a $1.5 million donation on February 18 from Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSX:TKO) – the largest corporate contribution the project has received thus far.

The Joseph and Rosalie Segal Family Health Centre, named after noted philanthropists Joseph and Rosalie Segal, will replaced VGH’s current 70-year-old mental health facility.

Last year, the Segals donated $12 million to the project. Taseko’s gift will be given over the next three years.

“We are extremely pleased to have Taseko come on board in such a significant way,” says Barbara Grantham, president and chief executive officer at VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation, in a statement.

“By any measure a $1.5 million donation is very generous. It is the largest corporate gift we have received for the project to date.”

The new centre will be approximately 119,500 square feet and boast 100 private rooms. Patients at the facility will be treated for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia as well as drug and alcohol addiction, amongst other conditions.

Total capital cost for the centre is estimated at $84.5 million – $57 million of which is being provided by Victoria, $27.5 million from the VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation, $12 million from the Segals and $1.5 million from Taseko.

Construction is forecasted to begin in October 2014 and be completed by May 2017.

The fate of Taseko’s controversial New Prosperity project – a large-scale copper-gold development located in the Cariboo region – is expected from Ottawa by the end of the month.

By Sean Kolenko
February 18, 2014

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