Southlake launches site selection process to build a new hospital
For 100 years and counting, Southlake has served the growing communities in northern York Region and southern Simcoe County from its Davis Drive site. Having stretched capacity to serve patients in space half the size required by today’s standards, Southlake has launched an open call for proposals to identify land suitable to build a second hospital.
Landowners with a minimum of 40 acres of developable land suitable for building a large community hospital are invited to review the detailed proposals document linked below and electronically present a submission to newhospitalsite@southlake.ca by January 15, 2025 at 2 p.m. EST. While all interest is appreciated, only submissions that meet mandatory criteria will proceed to a secondary review as part of a two-staged process.
Questions & Answers
Application Process
How do I submit an expression of interest?
All those interested in producing a submission should thoroughly review the Proposal Call document available at the link above for more information.
A complete Stage 1 submission needs to be submitted electronically to newhospitalsite@southlake.ca before the deadline of January 15, 2025 at 2 p.m. EST.
What information needs to be included in my submission?
Southlake’s site Proposal Call will be conducted in a two-stage process. All submissions are required to meet all Stage 1 mandatory criteria in order to be considered for a Stage 2 review.
The Stage 1 mandatory submission criteria are outlined in the Proposal Call document and include:
- A minimum of 40 acres of developable land
- Documentation of land ownership
- Confirmation from all owners to proceed with a land transaction to Southlake
- Recent environmental reports demonstrating there is no known soil or groundwater contamination at the proposed site
- Land is not within key natural heritage features or in areas that would prevent the development of a hospital
- Located outside the Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine areas
- Serviceable – with water, sewage, natural gas, electrical and communications infrastructure in the next 5-7 years
- Be within a 17 km radius Southlake’s Davis Drive site
- Allow for the creation of a heliport
- Site has no known archaeological or other impediments to development.
Detailed submission instructions are outlined in the proposals document available at the link above.
Who will be reviewing my application?
Southlake’s Board of Directors has endorsed a site selection process framework to develop a new acute care hospital that includes establishing a Land Acquisition Sub-Committee.
The sub-committee is comprised of Board members that bring expertise from various professions to support the site selection process, and are supported by an Executive Lead, Project Advisor, and other subject matter experts retained by Southlake to coordinate the process and provide recommendations to the committee.
How is a successful submission identified?
Submissions will be evaluated through a two-stage process as outlined in the Proposal Call document available at the link above.
Stage 1 sets out mandatory criteria, which have been defined based on Southlake’s requirements and ensuring development readiness for a new hospital.
Submissions that meet the Stage 1 mandatory requirements will be asked to submit a Stage 2 submission that will include additional due diligence information that will allow Southlake to evaluate proposals against additional criteria.
Following the evaluation review period by Southlake’s Board of Directors, proponents will be advised of the final decision related to their submission.
How will you ensure a sense of fairness is maintained throughout the process?
A third-party Fairness Advisor has been retained to ensure activities and assessments are undertaken without bias and on an objective basis.
Greg Dadd, a former Principal consultant at Optimus SBR, has assumed the Fairness Advisor responsibilities for Southlake’s site selection process.
Greg has held senior positions within the public sector, as Director, Supply and Financial Services with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Chief Operating Officer of Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC), the agency which managed all activities involving the provincial government’s real estate portfolio including responsibility for land acquisitions and surplus sales and development.
Greg has completed more than fifty assignments in a Fairness Advisor role, providing the practical application of his earlier career experience and accountability for ensuring fair public procurement processes. He has been engaged as a Fairness Advisor for a number of high-profile, complex infrastructure projects including several hospitals in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces. Greg recently completed site selection engagements with Lakeridge Health and Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital for proposed new hospitals in Durham Region and Kitchener-Waterloo.
When will a successful proponent be announced?
Southlake looks forward to announcing a successful proponent next spring.
Is Southlake looking to own the land?
Yes, a key objective of the Proposal Call is to identify land suitable for a large community hospital that allows for development within a 5–7-year period.
It is expected that proponents making submissions have the right to transfer the land to Southlake.
Southlake’s Master Plan
How big will the new hospital be?
Preliminary plans include expanding acute and post-acute care, critical care and emergency care, diagnostic imaging and surgery.
Once land is secured, more detailed planning with our provincial partners will take place that will provide greater clarity to help outline Southlake’s clinical operations to best meet our patients’ needs.
When is the new hospital expected to open?
Building a new hospital in Ontario generally takes 8-10 years and time is of the essence to ensure we can meet the acute care needs of our community.