VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation has acquired the 1.4-acre property located at the 900 block of West 12^th Avenue as part of its ongoing mission to drive health care innovation for all British Columbians.

This $100M investment is the largest of its type by a health care foundation in BC. It represents an exciting and unique opportunity to expand the Vancouver General Hospital health care precinct and is made possible through the long-standing generosity of our donors over the years and the close partnership between the Foundation and Vancouver Coastal Health.

“We are thrilled to be investing in an expansion of the VGH campus. This is a generational opportunity for our Foundation to effectively invest in long-term improvements and expansions to the Vancouver General Hospital campus, with development potential to expand health care services in the future,” says Angela Chapman, President & CEO, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation. “We are confident this landmark investment will prove to be a potential model for other non-profit organizations looking to maximize the impact of philanthropic funds and create transformational-level change in BC.”

Through this acquisition, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation has both secured space for expansion of the VGH campus and helped ensure that a prime, long-term care facility is retained with publicly-funded long-term care beds.

The site includes the Windermere Care Centre (Windermere), a 14-storey, 207-bed long-term care facility. The Foundation will lease Windermere to VCH, which will operate the care home. Currently, three of the beds are private; through this acquisition, these will become publicly-funded. VCH is working with the Foundation and Windermere to ensure a seamless transition for residents and their families, staff and vendors.

“This acquisition is the result of a multi-year planning process by our Board of Directors and reflects our strategic vision to transform BC’s health care landscape,” says Gary Segal, Chair, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Board of Directors. “We are excited about this opportunity; it has the potential for custom-designed and innovative spaces that will enable health care teams to do their best work and take advantage of leading technologies. We are looking forward to working closely with VCH and the wider community to make the best possible use of this space for the future needs of our health care system.”

Previous property owners, Dan McDonald and Margaret Marchioli, were grateful for the opportunity to sell to an organization that would ensure the land could be used in a way which benefited the people of Vancouver and British Columbia, and provided for the future of the Windermere Care Centre.

The property also features a three-storey, 26-unit, rental apartment building on the existing site. The Foundation has hired a professional property management firm to manage this site on its behalf.

“This is a landmark deal that will create a virtuous cycle of investment in specialized health care services for British Columbians, as revenue from leases will be re-invested into our health care system, multiplying the impact of donor dollars and benefit for local communities,” Chapman added.

VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation is Vancouver Coastal Health’s primary philanthropic partner and the engine for health care innovation and transformation in British Columbia. By recruiting world-class medical professionals and equipping them with the tools and technology to do their best work we are improving the health of our communities and saving lives across the province. Founded in 1980, the Foundation has raised over $1 billion to support the best in adult health care for all British Columbians.

Patients across BC with the most complex health care needs are referred to the Vancouver Coastal Health sites we support: VGH, UBC Hospital, GF Strong Rehab Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and Vancouver Community Health Services.