Bridgepoint Health Redevelopment Project Reaches Financial Close

The Bridgepoint Health redevelopment project reached financial close on August 11, 2009. The project is an Infrastructure Ontario Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) project for the design, build, finance, maintenance and lifecycle repair and renewal of a new 10-storey, 472-bed and 680,000-square-foot building for patients with complex chronic disease in Toronto.

Bridgepoint Health is Canada's leader in the prevention and management of complex chronic disease and disability.

Bridgepoint Health and Infrastructure Ontario were the co-sponsors of the project. Infrastructure Ontario, the Crown corporation dedicated to the renewal of Ontario's public infrastructure assets, assisted Bridgepoint Health with the procurement and implementation of the transaction.

Following a two-stage procurement process, a consortium headed by Plenary Health was named as the preferred bidder on June 9, 2009; commercial close was reached on August 10, 2009 and financial close on August 11, 2009. Payments to cover construction, building maintenance, lifecycle repair and renewal and project financing will be made on an availability and performance basis, in a total amount of $1.27 billion over 30 years, or a net present value of $622 million.

Designed specially for patients with complex chronic disease (multiple long-term illnesses), the health-care complex, which is located at Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street East in Toronto, will replace the existing aging hospital. It will be certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

The historic Don Jail will be preserved and restored into a centre for administrative and support services. The main entrance and rotunda will be publicly accessible, while some cells and the gallows will also be retained.

Construction will be completed in early 2013 and patient services will move to the new hospital in the spring of 2013.

Plenary Health's team includes Plenary Group and Innisfree, as equity investors, PCL Constructors Canada Inc. (PCL), HDR Architecture, Inc., Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc. and Johnson Controls LP (JCLP).

Calyon New York Branch, Dexia Crédit Local and Royal Bank of Canada provided construction financing for the project. The long-term financing for the project was underwritten by RBC Capital Markets. Innisfree provided the majority of the equity required for the project.

Plenary Health subcontracted the design-build aspects of the project to PCL, which in turn arranged for architectural services through HDR Architecture and Diamond and Schmitt Architects. Plenary Health also subcontracted the hard facility management and lifecycle responsibilities to JCLP.

Infrastructure Ontario was represented in-house by Vernita Tsang and both Bridgepoint Health and Infrastructure Ontario were represented by its external counsel, McCarthy Tétrault LLP. The McCarthy Tétrault team was led by Gordon Willcocks and Godyne Sibay and included Joel Heard (construction); Cynthia MacDougall (planning); Lara Nathans (commercial); Andrew Collingwood and Tristan Musgrave (real estate); Jamie Orzech and Alysha Valenti (project finance) and Brian Pel (taxation).

Plenary Health was represented by Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP with a team that included Robert Bauer, Steven Martin, Patrice Thomas and David Reiner (corporate and real estate); Paul Martin, Tim Baron, Peter Westcott and Jonathan Ip (finance) and Neal Armstrong (tax). Innisfree was represented by Sheila Jamieson and by external counsel Terrence Burgoyne and Rocco Sebastiano of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.

PCL was presented by Donald Lucky, John Paul Janssens and Mark Hildebrand of Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer LLP. JCLP was represented by Darryl Brown and Farida James of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP.

RBC Capital Markets and the construction lenders were represented by Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. The Fasken Martineau team was led by Brian Kelsall and Ella Plotkin and included Jon Holmstrom, John Sabetti, Marc Lefler and Daniel Fuke.