Groundbreaking Marks Construction Start on The Largest Healthcare Investment in the Region’s History
16-7-2026
Construction has officially begun on the site of the Fancsy Family Hospital, a major milestone in the development of the new state-of-the-art acute care hospital for Windsor-Essex.
To celebrate the occasion, Windsor Regional Hospital staff and leadership were joined by Premier Doug Ford, Deputy Premier and Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie and Windsor Essex MPP Anthony Leardi, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, Essex County Warden Hilda MacDonald, community leaders, donors, partners, patients, and neighbours for a groundbreaking ceremony at the future home of the hospital.
“This is an incredibly exciting, transformative milestone for Windsor Regional Hospital and our entire community, who have been working towards this day since the need for a new hospital was first identified more than a decade ago. After today, construction will continue onsite until we cut the ribbon and open the doors of our new acute care hospital,” said Kristin Kennedy, President and CEO, Windsor Regional Hospital.
The event recognized the years of planning, collaboration, and investment from government partners, health care leaders, donors, and the broader community to bring the project to this stage.
“As Windsor-Essex continues to grow, our government is ensuring families and workers continue to have access to convenient, world-class health care services close to home, including through our more than $64 billion plan to build and upgrade more than 50 hospitals across Ontario,” said Premier Doug Ford. “With more than 100 beds, a 24/7 emergency department and surgical services, the new Fancsy Family Hospital will connect more patients to specialized care, where and when they need it.”
The start of construction marks the beginning of Phase One of a three-phase build that will transform hospital care in Windsor-Essex.
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- Phase 1 – Enabling Works, which include a three-storey education and administrative centre, a 700-space parking garage, and critical site infrastructure needed to support future construction.
- Phase 2 – Diagnostic and Treatment Block, which will serve as the clinical heart of the hospital, including the emergency department, regional cancer centre, surgical services, critical care, and women’s and children’s services.
- Phase 3 – Inpatient Tower, which will feature a nine-storey inpatient tower with modern, private patient rooms designed to enhance comfort, safety, and care outcomes.
Phase 1 site prep is now underway, with excavation and construction expected to ramp up over the summer. Construction will begin in the northwest portion of the property and will continue east and south until the entire project is completed.
Work on Phase 2 is also underway. Earlier this year, Infrastructure Ontario (IO), in partnership with Windsor Regional Hospital and the Ministry of Health,
issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to select the construction team to build the second phase of the project. Qualified participants will be invited to participate in a Request for Proposals later this year. Each phase is designed to integrate seamlessly with the next, creating a cohesive hospital campus that will modernize care delivery across the region.
“Our government is making historic investments to protect Ontario’s health-care system, ensuring that more people in Windsor-Essex can connect to the care they need, where and when they need it,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Today’s announcement marks another major milestone toward the new, state-of-the-art Fancsy Family Hospital, which will transform health care across the region. Once complete, it will provide patients and families with access to world-class hospital services for generations to come.”
Several early donors attended the ceremony as philanthropy plays a critical role in the realization of the new hospital project, with funds raised supporting equipment needs. Last summer, a transformational gift of approximately $40 million from the estate of the late John Thomas Fancsy became the largest publicly known donation in the Windsor-Essex region and led to the naming of the new hospital the Fancsy Family Hospital.
"We are beyond excited to celebrate this milestone with our donors and with every person who has advocated for the equipment that our new hospital needs to be a world-class facility," said Cristina Naccarato, Executive Director of Windsor Regional Hospital Foundation. "As early champions of the Fancsy Family Hospital, they have shown extraordinary faith, vision and generosity, and their investment in the future of healthcare is the ultimate legacy to the Windsor-Essex community."
The Fancsy Family Hospital is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform hospital services across Windsor-Essex and will be the first step toward developing a comprehensive, fully integrated health system for the region. Continue
HERE for more information.
WATCH: Fancsy Family Hospital Groundbreaking Documentary
Media Release