Province dedicates $141M in funding to Alberta Hospital Edmonton construction and improvements

The province is providing more than $141 million in funding for upgrades and demolitions at Alberta Hospital Edmonton.

Alberta Hospital Edmonton will get more than $141 million from the province for new construction and facility improvements.

The psychiatric hospital has delivered mental health services since it opened in 1923. It originally focussed on treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder after the First World War.

• Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News Edmonton, right at your fingertips

The funding will go towards upgrades for hospital campus infrastructure, unit renovations and the demolition of vacant buildings, according to the province.

Two of the new projects will be the Edmonton Recovery Community and the Northern Alberta Compassionate Intervention Centre.

Construction on those projects is expected to start in 2026.

The Edmonton Recovery Community, which will have 75 new beds, is expected to be built by the end of 2027 and will provide holistic, long-term addiction treatment for up to one year.

“Recovery communities focus on mental health and well-being, individual and group therapy, development of healthy habits and social skills, employment training and other supports that put residents on a pathway to success,” the province said in a news release.

“The goal is for every participant to leave the program not only drug free, but as healthy members of society with strong connections to the community.”

The Northern Alberta Compassionate Intervention Centre, which is expected to be built by 2029, will have 150 new beds and have spaces for intake assessments, medically supported detox, counselling, individual and group therapy and more for those receiving care under the proposed Compassionate Intervention Act.

• Alberta moving ahead with forced addiction treatment bill, critics warn it could do more harm than good

Treatment beds for youth under mandatory treatment orders will also move to the Northern Alberta Youth Recovery Centre when it is open, which is estimated to be in 2026. The hospital currently has 460 treatment beds.

• Alberta building new youth recovery beds at Edmonton jail, critics question location

Buildings 1 and 11 and the water tower are set to be demolished and planning is underway to demolish buildings 2, 5 and 7. All of the buildings are vacant.

Mechanical upgrades, water main repairs and boiler repairs will also be done at the hospital.