Site preparation activity at New Campus Development

Mar 28, 2022

The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) is pleased to announce the start of the preparations for the site where a state-of-the-art hospital will open its doors in 2028 and bring the future of health care to patients across Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec and Nunavut.

When it opens, TOH’s New Campus Development will be one of Canada’s most advanced health-care facilities, built to high standards of accessibility, sustainability, with thoughtfully designed public spaces and landscaping.

Site preparations are underway for the new hospital’s parking structure, to be located on the eastern section of the site at Carling Ave. and Preston St. During this phase of work, a limited number of trees will be removed or transplanted on the site. Fences have been installed around work areas to ensure public safety.

• About 159 trees will be removed at this time. Of those:
  • 100 are invasive species
  • 6 are dead trees
  • Up to 7 notable trees will be relocated to another area of the site
• Following construction of the parking structure in 2024, more than 850 trees will be planted on this section of the site
• Overall, trees that must be removed will be replaced at a rate of five to one across the entire site.

The parking structure will be built first, ahead of the hospital, so that when construction on the hospital begins, trades workers won’t need to park in surrounding neighborhoods. This streamlined approach ensures the process to build the new hospital will be on schedule and will minimize parking impacts to adjacent neighbourhoods.

The parking structure has been designed to make the smallest possible footprint to conserve as many mature trees as possible. TOH has worked closely with both the City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission to identify the trees that must be removed and to complete this work without disrupting the migratory and nesting patterns of local birds and bats.

Following construction of the garage, more than 850 new trees and large woody shrubs, both native and adapted species, will be planted on this portion of the site as part of the overall landscaping plan. The area will feature thickets of trees and gardens in the park on top of the parking structure, and larger trees will be planted along the scalloped edges at ground level.

TOH will plant five trees for every one that must be removed across the entire site for the new hospital. Work is currently underway to identify areas where new trees can be planted in advance of construction, to begin replacing trees and growing the urban canopy immediately.