MONTREAL – Thirty-one commercial spaces will soon be occupied by coffee shops, boutiques, banks and other merchants at the MUHC Glen site.
So far, only Multimags has opened with a book and stationary shop as well as a toy store and dépanneur.
In a few months Starbucks, Tim Hortons, RBC and others will all be found under one roof.
There are 33,000 square feet of retail space in the new facility.
“It’s a bit like an airport, I may say,” Denis Crevier, President of McGill Healthcare Infrastructure Group (MHIG) said at a Thursday morning press conference.
“The thinking behind it. You have everything one may need going to the airport. Here, it’s everything one may need coming to the hospital.”
But one group has been shut out of the new MUHC — auxiliary volunteers.
These people have played an integral part in the history and fundraising at the McGill teaching hospitals.
All the revenue they generate from sales at the traditional gift shops and restaurants go toward patient care.
Why are they being shut out?
The auxiliaries said they can’t afford the commercial lease rates at the new MUHC, despite a generous subsidy being offered by the MHIG.
Hospital officials insist the auxiliaries aren’t being completely ignored — kiosks will be allowed for them to continue their fundraising operations.
“The MUHC continues to work with the auxiliary to look at alternative ways that they can continue to do the good things that they do for the organization,” said Imma Franco, director of planning and real estate at the MUHC.
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