The new kid on the block in Toronto’s Discovery District stands 21-storeys high, spans 750,000 square feet and comes with a price tag of $400 million. It will also change the face of research at SickKids as we know it.

The brand new Research & Learning Tower will stand as a testament to the 135-year tradition of research and learning at SickKids and will bring together 2,000 scientists and staff of the SickKids Research Institute. The symbolic shovel hit the ground at the official groundbreaking ceremony on May 4.

Slated for completion in 2013, the world-class facility will achieve LEED® Gold Certification. Designers Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc. with HDR Inc. wanted to help set the standard for energy efficiency and sustainability with the Discovery District.

SickKids Foundation has committed to raising $200 million over the next three years as part of a special fundraising campaign. During the ceremony, the Foundation announced that Tim Hockey, president and CEO of TD Canada Trust, will serve as chair of the Tower Campaign and has formed a 35-member cabinet to help raise funds.

To demonstrate the staff’s commitment to the cause, SickKids Foundation held an internal fundraising campaign for the Tower that has raised $400,000 to date. In addition to that, The Hospital for Sick Children will also hold a fundraising campaign with its staff. Together, they hope to raise $10 million during the three-year campaign.

For more information on the Tower, please visit the Research & Learning Tower website.

To see images from the official groundbreaking event, please visit our Flickr page.

Visit our YouTube page to see video from the official groundbreaking and comments from: Mary Jo Haddad, president and CEO of The Hospital for Sick Children; Constance Sugiyama, chair of The Hospital for Sick Children Board of Trustees; Ted Garrard, president and CEO of SickKids Foundation; and Tim Hockey, president and CEO of TD Canada Trust and the chair of the Tower Campaign.