It’s the largest gift ever given to the Niagara Health Foundation. Pictured left to right at a celebration event at Two Sisters Vineyards last Thursday are Benny Marotta, Louise Marotta, Simona Marotta, Angela Marotta, Melissa Marotta-Paolicelli, Giuseppe Paolicelli, and Chiara Marotta. Photo credit: Niagara Health Foundation
As residents, officials, and stakeholders of every kind eagerly await ground-breaking at the new $3.6 billion South Niagara Hospital, local fundraisers are once again celebrating another massive private sector donation to the mega-project.
In an announcement late last week, representatives from the It’s Our Future fundraising campaign revealed that the Marotta family has pledged $10 million to the new Niagara Falls hospital – representing not only the campaign’s largest gift to date, but the largest single gift given to the Niagara Health Foundation in history.
In honour of their immense generosity, the atrium of the South Niagara Hospital will be named the “Marotta Family Atrium”.
“This historic gift from the Marotta family is a demonstration to our community’s dedication, generosity and support towards the future of healthcare in Niagara,” president and CEO of Niagara Health Foundation Andrea Scott said. “We are truly honoured to receive this support, which will help us make a lasting impact on the health and well-being of our community.”
The Marotta family has a long history of philanthropy and supports several non-profit organizations within the arts and culture, health, social services, and education sectors.
Family patriarch Benny Marotta is founder of Solmar Development Corporation, which, over the past 30 years, has built numerous luxury housing communities around the GTA and Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Benny and his daughters Melissa and Angela opened the ultra-successful Two Sisters Vineyards in Old Town Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2014.
Two Sisters was awarded the “Business That Gives Back Award” in 2022 by the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce and recognized as one of Canada’s Top Growing Companies by The Globe and Mail in 2019.
“As leaders in our family, we will continue to strive to be successful in our business endeavours to support our philanthropic efforts, which is very important to us,” the Marotta family said in a statement. “We are proud to support the new South Niagara Hospital as it plays a very important role in providing healthcare to those living in the Niagara Region and its surrounding communities.”
The It’s Our Future fundraising campaign, which is co-chaired by Harry Oakes of HOCO Entertainment and Mayor of Niagara Falls Jim Diodati, has secured over $50 million in pledges toward the community’s $200 million local share of the South Niagara Hospital project.
Other multi-million-dollar founding donors include Oakes, Spencer Fox of E.S. Fox Ltd., Mark Basciano of Mountainview Homes, Domenic DiLalla of Centennial Construction, the Rankin family, the McCall MacBain family, Guery Goyo of Villarboit Group of Companies, Angelo Butera of Panoramic Properties, and Jim Pattison of the Jim Pattison Group.
To be located at the corners of Montrose and Biggar roads in Niagara Falls, site work on the new hospital is set to commence this July. The hospital will take five years to build, with occupancy planned for 2028.
The 1.3-million-square-foot facility will offer a full scope of hospital services including emergency, critical care, diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical services, as well as centres of excellence in complex care, wellness in aging, and stroke.
The site will have advanced infection prevention and control measures and has been planned with the space and infrastructure to accommodate new and emerging healthcare technology.
The hospital will be 12 storeys tall and have up to 469 beds.
