Fencing is now up around a building slated for demolition at Coquitlam's Riverview Hospital.
BC Housing says Valleyview Pavilion — the orange building facing Lougheed Highway — is set to undergo Hazmat abatement starting this week, prior to it being torn down by this fall.
The 57-year-old structure that, at its peak, had 328 beds for geriatric psychiatric patients, will be razed to make way for two new buildings to treat the mentally ill.
Last December, the provincial government announced plans to build a 105-bed complex to replace the Centre for Mental Health and Addiction in Burnaby; another building with 38 beds will be constructed to replace the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre and Provincial Assessment Centre.
Both buildings are currently located on the Willingdon Lands in Burnaby.
BC Housing, which is responsible for the 244-acre site, said construction is due to end by the spring of 2019.
jwarren@tricitynews.com
