​Planning is officially underway for a new state-of-the-art patient tower at Toronto Western Hospital’s (TWH) campus.

DIALOG, the architects selected by University Health Network (UHN) to design the tower, have submitted a development application to the City of Toronto seeking approval on its site plan.

The tower will be built on the northwest corner of TWH, which the site of the current visitor parking lot at the corner of Bathurst and Nassau Streets. The tower is planned to be 15 storeys. Eleven of those floors will be occupied by patient care, and the remainder reserved for mechanical and design purposes.

“The TWH campus was constructed over a century ago, and the existing infrastructure cannot continue to meet today's growing patient volumes or match the advanced skills of its medical teams," DIALOG wrote in the application. “As one of the top-ranking hospitals across the country, TWH is now well-positioned to add a new patient tower to its campus, equipped with the most advanced operating rooms, an exceptional patient-focused experience, and a culture of surgical innovation powered by the latest technologies."

“We are building the future of patient care," said UHN executive vice-president Rebecca Repa. “Working through construction for a project of this size is complicated, but we are committed to supporting TeamUHN and the neighbouring community. This tower will help us clear surgical backlogs and create a state-of-the-art working environment – the end result will be well worth it."

First announced in April 2022, the new tower will have surgical services, 80 new patient beds, an intensive care unit, Medical Device Reprocessing Department and more. It will span nearly 24,000 square metres, and is scheduled for completion in 2027.