McGill aims to acquire Royal Victoria Hospital

MONTREAL - McGill University says it would gladly take over the landmark Royal Victoria Hospital once its vacated in 2015.

The future vocation of the sprawling landmark, housed on one million square feet of prime real estate, has been a subject of discussion since the operations were slated to be moved to the west end in the new English superhospital.

“For us it's a huge opportunity,” said McGill University representative Olivier Marcil. “Right across the campus, we’d have that new space that would be available to meet our immediate needs and we have a deficit of space.”

Whoever wants the property will have to buy it from the McGill University Health Centre however.

The MUHC understands that the province will be offered the first chance to purchase the property.

“They have the first right of approval or refusal as to whether they want to use those buildings for themselves or not,” said Richard Fahey of the McGill University Health Centre.

The building would require massive renovations before being repurposed, the university concedes.

The list of bidders might be small however, as the properties were bequeathed long ago specifically to accomodate a hospital on the property. Any change in vocation could face a court challenge, so it's likely that the properties will remain in use for institutional purposes.