Proposed new building comes free of charge for hospital foundation

WATCH: In the shadows of the MUHC at the Glen site, Provigo plans to open a brand new complex that will also house a senior’s home and the Montreal Children’s Foundation’s offices. Tim Sargeant explains what this could mean for the parents of sick children.

NDG – A new housing complex is being proposed that could be a great benefit for parents of sick children admitted to the new Montreal Children’s Hospital at the MUHC Glen site.

Promoters of a new Provigo grocery store and a senior’s home are offering the Hospital’s Foundation free office space for more than 35 full-time employees and 10 private rooms for parents.

It would mean savings of more than $500,000 for the charity organization.

“We’re thrilled. Really it’s like a gift that fell from the sky,” Marie-Josée Gariépy, president of the Children’s Hospital Foundation said.

The complex is being proposed as a mixed commercial and residential building on the corner of Ste-Catherine Street and de Maisonneuve Boulevard in NDG.

The 10-storey structure will include a senior’s home, offices for the Foundation, rooms for the parent’s of children admitted to the hospital and the Provigo at street level.

The 30,000-square foot structure will sit within one city block of the new MUHC.

The Montreal Children’s Hospital is slated to move Sunday.

The opening date isn’t planned for another two years. Building permits have to be granted and new zoning changes need to be made first.

The Montreal city councillor who represents the district of NDG plans to vote in favour of the project when it comes up to vote in August, but Peter McQueen wants guarantees traffic will continue to flow smoothly.

“It’s clear we have to think very carefully about how cars are going to come into a new building at that location with the bicycle path there,” McQueen told Global News.