Healthcare

Burlington County's Virtua Memorial Hospital has completed its new $19.6-million expansion and renovation project initiated in December of 1999. The 45,000-sf addition provides space for new operating rooms including a 26-bed critical-care unit and a cardiac-catheterization suite. Oversized operating rooms have the capacity to support advanced neurosurgical and orthopedic equipment. In the existing hospital building, 15,000 sf of space was renovated to expand the lobby and house a conference center, cafe, and gift shop.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit health care philanthropy, is building a 96,000-sf office and public affairs center in Washington.

Children's Medical Center of Dallas selected McCarthy to build a $17.8 million, 2,500-car parking garage at Dallas Market Center. Ground was recently broken on the design-build structure which will provide much needed space for employee and visitor parking. The project, designed by architect Carl Walker, Inc., is part of a long-term growth initiative to increase services and capacity at the hospital's main location.

Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Walnut Creek, Calif., has selected architects Ratcliff of Emeryville, Calif., to design a new emergency department. The 32,000-sf facility will feature 52 private-visit rooms and will accommodate 73,000 patient visits per year. Slated to open in September 2003, the new emergency department will be 2.5 times the size of Kaiser's existing Walnut Creek emergency facilities.

Jordan Hospital has selected Newton-based TRO, The Ritchie Organization, as architect for the Plymouth hospital's ten-year expansion project. Construction management will be provided by the Needham office of Gilbane Building Co., with Brookline-based Dunster Associates as project manager. The cancer center, the emergency department and outpatient services will be expanded.

Kaiser Permanente is leasing a new $12-million facility in Daly City slated for occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2002. Designed by MBH Architects of Alameda, the 120,000-sf medical building will house additional space for women's services, adult medicine, and the entire ophthalmology department. Developed by Dewey Land Co. of San Mateo, Calif., and CKAM of Palo Alto, Calif., the facility is being built by general contractor South Bay Construction.  

The University of California, San Francisco is planning a 150,000-sf neurosurgery, urology and cancer center serving advanced research. The $85-million building, still in a "very preliminary" stage, could be located on the University's Mt. Zion campus in San Francisco. The neurological research building will be accompanied by a $600-million project replacing existing hospitals due to cramped medical research space and inadequate seismic standards. After plans are approved, it could take at least 10 years to open the new hospital facilities.

Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, has awarded the Columbus office of Turner Construction Company the contract to build a new $47 million Heart Hospital. Construction is scheduled for completion in February 2004. Turner is the general contractor. This project is a joint venture between Turner Construction Company and Elford Construction of Columbus. The new facility will be three stories tall with a basement.

Beaumont Hospital's $42 million Laboratory/Research Building expansion at the hospital's Royal Oak, Mich., campus was planned and designed by Detroit-based HarleyEllis. The 131,000-sf, five-story addition opened in May 2001 and consists of new laboratory space with a fully automated blood analysis line as well as clinical pathology offices. The project also included the renovation of lab areas within the main hospital and a new pedestrian tunnel linking the Research Building to the materials handling dock.

The Children's Hospital of Oakland is planning a $24-million, 13,300-sf expansion as well as a 14,960-sf renovation. The project would provide MRI space, expand ER facilities, and increase diagnostic rooms.

Willis Eye Hospital is developing a new 150,000-sf hospital in Philadelphia. The purchase of air rights enabled construction of the 14-story office and medical facility on top of an existing office and parking garage, a challenge for architect Andre Zlotnicki of HLM Design. Addition of an external glass elevator will enable patrons to access the hospital, which commences on the seventh floor.

Washington Hospital Center is developing an emergency department that converts quickly to terrorist-ready mode as needed. The full-service ER One is a prototype terrorism response unit that includes design specifications for a 21st century facility. The design plan, backed by $2.2 million in federal funding, could be finished in six to nine months, with model completion in 18 months. Security experts join physicians and paramedics from hospitals nationwide on the design team.

The new 55,000-sf Digestive Disease Center for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, is the largest specialty facility of its kind in the nation. Designed by van Dijk Pace Westlake Architects, the $10 million Center joins together the departments of Gastroenterology & Hepatology and Colorectal Surgery. van Dijk Pace Westlake Architects renovated the third floor of the Cleveland Clinic's Crile Building. The purpose of the project is to combine all of the disciplines related to digestive disease in one outpatient facility.

The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor has planned a new cardiovascular center, including educational, research and clinical components. Located on the university's main health science campus, the free-standing facility will be designed and programmed by Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott.

South Jersey Health System began construction in December 2001 on its new Regional Medical Center. The 238-bed, 405,000-sf hospital will house an enhanced emergency department, a Level II neonatal nursery, and specialized cardiac services. Each floor of the four-story hospital will focus on a different program. Services for mothers and babies will occupy the ground floor, with surgical patients on the second floor, medicine on the third and cardiology on the fourth. Rooms are all private and feature critical care monitoring technology.