Work to start this fall on $82M mental health centre in Vancouver

The newly-announced Joseph & Rosalie Segal Family Health Centre for mental health is seen in this graphic rendering. (Handout)

VANCOUVER - The B.C. government says work will begin this fall on an $82 million mental health treatment centre in Vancouver.

Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid says the new Joseph & Rosalie Segal Family Health Centre building, which is expected to open in 2017, will provide a modern environment for the treatment of patients with mental health issues.

The centre will consolidate mental health programs in Vancouver, most of which are currently based in a 70-year-old building at Vancouver General Hospital.

Vancouver Coastal Health President Dr. David Ostrow says the new centre will be the largest of its kind in B.C.

The facility will be named after Joseph and Rosalie Segal, who donated $12 million to the project, which MacDiarmid says is one of the biggest personal gifts for mental health ever made in Canada.

The B.C. government is contributing $57 million, while the VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation has committed to raising the rest of the money.