Will Quebec fund $690M Royal Victoria revamp? McGill hopes so

McGill University is hoping the Quebec governmentwill like its ambitious $690-million plan to overhaul the site of theabandoned RoyalVictoria Hospital enough to pitch in for the bulk of the funding.

The proposed upgrades were unveiled Friday and would see the Royal Vic transformed into a newpavilion dedicated to climate change, sustainable development and public policy.

The university is now waiting to see if Quebec approves of its plans and will financially back the project.

McGillspokesperson Louis Arseneaultsaid the government would have to assume the majority of the projected costs, but that the school would also partially fund it.

"We will have skin in the game, for sure,"Arseneault said.

He's not sure when the university will find out if Quebec supports the project, but hedoubts money will be allocated to it in the province'supcoming budget, being tabled Tuesday.

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The hospital was built by Scottish immigrants in 1893 andArseneault said that old architecture makes renovating the building more complex.

"We don't know exactly what we'll find when we start working in there," he said.

Arseneault added that the renewed space would not only serve the university, but the city, as the revamped heritage site would become a draw for tourists.

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'Symbol of the future'

According to Arseneault, the remodeled Royal Vicwill featureopen classrooms, labs, green spaceand conference rooms.

"McGill is very excited at the idea of transforming an old hospital site, which has been abandoned, into what could be a symbol of the future," he said.

Arseneaultsaid that if everything goes well, the university could be breaking ground by 2021 the 200th anniversary of the university.

He added thatthe remodeled site would help McGill'scurrentcrunch for space.

The university is dealing with a28,000-square-metre deficit and the Royal Vic site would contribute 50,000-square-metres.

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Studies dating back to 2015

Developing plans forthe Royal Vic dateback to when it was transitioning out of being a hospital.

In 2015, McGill launched a call for tenders to conduct a feasibility study to assess the technical, financial and heritage-related challenges of transforming the site.

The $8-million study was partially financed by the Quebec government.

It came after patients were moved from the site to the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Glen site in April 2015.

In the years since, theRoyal Vic has been empty and costing the MUHC $7.5 million annually to maintain.