The buildings are obsolete and have major functional problems. Extensive and costly work to the building envelopes, windows, and the electrical and heating systems would be required to keep the buildings in good working order. Also, the current building configuration fosters neither patient respect and comfort nor the optimal use of space. The fact that the buildings are dispersed geographically not only is an inconvenience for clients who have to visit different pavilions but also wastes time for employees and leads to operational expenses. This configuration also prevents us from truly integrating research and care. Finally, wooden buildings such as the Perry Pavilion (which houses the Brain Bank) pose a fire risk.

As a psychiatric hospital, the Douglas has become a truly specialized centre that offers clinical services to clients with complex problems. The goal of the Institute is to help patients recover and reintegrate into their communities. This change of role requires a healing environment that fosters interaction between the teams at the hospital and the Research Centre and our external partners.

Given the current condition of our buildings and the Institute's growing needs, we are optimistic that this project will go ahead as planned. Founded on the principles of a healing environment and on the values of recovery, this project represents a major advance for mental health in Quebec and will help us improve the quality of life of people living with mental health problems.

Yes, the location on Boulevard LaSalle was considered, but the orientation of the sun did not meet the conditions for a healing environment. Also, access to the river would have been limited for users if this location had been selected.

The Douglas Institute also looked at constructing new buildings with connections to the existing buildings, but this plan had major problems, as it would have involved exorbitant renovation costs, and we would have ended up with the same problems of cramped space, a program-by-program configuration, work in silos, a lack of integration between research and care, and safety concerns related to the aging pavilions made of wood.

The Ville de Montréal has created a Comité de patrinoine to assess the heritage value of certain buildings at the Douglas. The community will be surveyed to determine how the buildings will be used once the Institute has released them. The Douglas Institute would like to maximize the community's use of green space and ensure that the released buildings are used for a community purpose.

Studies were conducted by leading architects who were asked to find the best clinical solution at the lowest cost. If the Douglas could have renovated its existing buildings, it would have. But this was not the conclusion arrived at by the architects who were hired. Consult the full study.

Renovating the existing pavilions is not possible. An analysis of the existing infrastructure concluded that the buildings do not have any potential for clinical renovations, reconfiguration, or reconstruction. In fact, the current infrastructure does not meet hospital construction standards, the requirements of a modern mental health approach, or the mission of a university institute.

The prefeasibility study conducted in May 2009 considered all possible options: the status quo, improving current services, major investment in renovations and asset maintenance, as well as major investment to transform the pavilions. The conclusion was that the Douglas Institute had reached the limit in terms of the adaptations it could make to the buildings and that the existing facilities, despite the renovations done over the years, could no longer:

• provide the necessary space
• provide a safe and suitable environment for young clients
• support the clinical approach to promote recovery
• facilitate the pathway from inpatient care to outpatient care and the community
• promote interaction with CSSSs and community partners
• support the integration of clinical, teaching, research, technology assessment and knowledge transfer practices

The Douglas Institute wants to offer the best specialized mental health services in Quebec, and this requires more than simply bringing our existing obsolete buildings up to standard. This mission involves creating a truly integrated care, research and teaching facility that provides patients with cutting-edge treatment in a healing environment based on best practices.

The Douglas Hospital was built between 1881 and 1966, when it housed over 1900 patients in 34 buildings, a configuration that was in keeping with the asylum approach of that era. Since then, the Douglas has been granted Institute status and has become a centre for specialized treatment, the development of cutting-edge practices, and knowledge transfer. Its environment must not be centred on patient isolation but rather on recovery, in partnership with the community.

A healing environment is a place that is conducive to healing and that incorporates:

• A “village” concept, in which patients go from a care unit (home) to ambulatory services (neighbourhood) and shared spaces (downtown). Depending on their stage of recovery, patients can access different areas to get ready to reintegrate into the community.
• A central atrium that is well-lit and safe, that has lots of greenery, and that is shared with the Verdun community.
• Open and secure indoor and outdoor courtyards on the same floor as the therapy departments and care units.
• A building orientation that maximizes the amount of natural light.

The use of the atrium has not yet been defined, but many options are possible, including a space to exhibit works of art or even a meeting space for community agencies. Residents will be consulted in due course about how the atrium will be used.

The construction schedule has not yet been established. However, neighbours will be able to sit on the consultative committee of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) to work with the Douglas Institute to find ways to reduce the project's impact on neighbourhood life.

Although the original plan was to build near Stephens Street, the Douglas Institute is instead planning to construct the new facility along Champlain Boulevard to maintain the view of the park for neighbouring residents. A landscaped area will also be developed in collaboration with neighbours to protect their view of the park.

The impact on car traffic will also be assessed by the Ville de Montréal and its boroughs at the appropriate time.

Access to parking and other issues will be evaluated at a more advanced phase of the project. However, immediate neighbours can rest assured that parking permits will always be available.

Yes, the Verdun community will be able to use the park during the construction period.

The modernization project requires major investment. We are planning on submitting grant applications for the construction of the Research Centre to federal and provincial agencies as well as to the Ministère des Finances du Québec. We have also started a process with the Douglas Institute Foundation.

We are not able to provide an exact date, but we estimate that the ground-breaking will not happen before 2017.

The Douglas Institute has no intention either now or in the future of selling its land for condominium development.

Once the strategic proposal has been accepted, the project timeframe will be approximately six and a half years. This timeframe includes the preparation of a detailed functional and technical plan (approximately six months), the creation and approval of the initial business case and the final business case (approximately one year each) and the construction work itself (approximately four years).

The recommendations are based on the following studies, all of which are available on the Good Neighbour Committee’s webpage:

• Étude de préfaisabilité – Rapport final (Final prefeasibility report, May 28, 2009)
• Étude de préfaisabilité – Addendum (Addendum to the prefeasibility report, updated May 2012)
• Plan clinique et académique (Clinical and academic plan, January 2013)
• Étude du potentiel d’intérêt patrimonial des édifices existants de l’Institut universitaire pour la [sic] santé mentale Douglas (Study of the potential heritage value of the existing buildings of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, June 2012)
• Aménagement du terrain entourant l’Hôpital Douglas – Caractérisation de l’état de référence et concepts d’aménagement (Characterization of the baseline condition and landscaping concepts for the land surrounding the Douglas Hospital, July 2012)
• Dossier de présentation stratégique (Strategic proposal, 2012)