It appears official. 

Construction of a $170 million replacement for the aging Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital is due to start within months.  

The facility is expected to open its doors in 2028.

A service was held Monday morning in Beaverlodge on the corner of 20 acres of land donated a decade ago by the McFarlane family. 

Attended by local dignitaries, the service marked the official signing of the lease of the facility by Alberta Health Services (AHS).  

Beaverlodge Mayor Gary Rycroft said AHS, land and community development company Landrex Inc. and the town actually signed the lease for the Mountview Health Complex a “week or so ago,” a crucial step in the development of the facility.

“The lease from AHS makes it totally official,” he said.

“Landrex couldn’t carry on with the design and engineering until we got the lease signed, because of the money that was involved in that process.”

Construction for the 9,000 square metre facility is expected to begin in the spring of 2024. 

Once construction is complete, AHS will lease and operate space within the facility, offering services including outpatient care, ambulance services, inpatient care, community health services and clinical support services such as imaging, labs, pharmacy and rehabilitation.

Landrex is anticipated to set out tenders for a construction company and materials soon.

The move this week is one step closer to a replacement for the Beaverlodge Hospital built in 1956. 

The Mountview Health Complex Committee (MHCC) was established in the spring of 2020 with the goal to land a hospital replacement utilizing private funds. The committee includes representatives from the Town of Beaverlodge, County of Grande Prairie, the Grande Spirit Foundation and AHS. 

In January 2021, the town issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a public-private partnership (P3) for a new community health facility, and partnered with Landrex Inc.

In December of last year, AHS signed a letter of intent to pursue becoming the anchor tenant in the Mountview Health Complex.

“We partnered with Landrex and then processed along to where we were getting ministerial approval,” Rycroft said.

“It took a while to get through the financial side of it, but finally we got all the processes through, got down to the minister’s office.

“Treasury had to approve it, so the minister’s office made a presentation to the treasury board and the treasury board liked what they heard, and away we go.”

With the signing of the lease, Rycroft said the construction of the facility is “pretty much set in stone.”

“We’ll be more sure when the shovels are in the ground but it’s hard for anybody to back out of this now,” he said.

“It’s long overdue and a lot of people have been working on this. So hats off to a lot of different people.”

Beaverlodge Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Jeff Johnston said the complex will be financed through the Mountview Health Limited Partnership, and will be funded by the province over a 30-year period.

Due to the nature of the P3 partnership, Johnston said the construction will not impact the town’s coffers.

“It’s not going to impact our operating or capital budgets,” he said.

“It’s going to be financed. We’re going to bring in money from an equity partner. It’s no different from building a house. You pay an interest rate and that’s the cost of the project, but it’s not on the town books.

“We’re going to build it and pay out the costs, and we’re going to recover our costs over the next 30 years.”

Landrex is an Alberta-based real estate development company that specializes in residential, commercial, and multi-family developments. 

Watch Town & Country News in the new year for more.

going to bring in money from an equity partner. It’s no different from building a house. You pay an interest rate and that’s the cost of the project, but it’s not on the town books.

“We’re going to build it and pay out the costs, and we’re going to recover our costs over the next 30 years.”

Landrex is an Alberta-based real estate development company that specializes in residential, commercial, and multi-family developments. 

Watch Town & Country News in the new year for more.