Advocate Health Care Plans Two Hospital Projects Totaling $455 Million

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Advocate Health Care plans to take advantage of record-low interest rates and is moving forward with two hospital projects totaling $455 million in the Chicago area, Crain’s Chicago Business reports. According to documents filed with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board—the entity that regulates medical construction to avoid the duplication of services, Advocate plans to build a nine-story patient tower in south suburban Oak Lawn. Located at 4440 W. 95th St. on the campus of Advocate Christ Medical Center, the development would also feature a 1,000-car parking garage.

Meanwhile, in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood at the Illinois Masonic Medical Center located at 836 W. Wellington Ave., Advocate is planning a 140,000-square-foot Center for Advanced Care. The three-story building would offer outpatient services for those suffering from various ailments, including digestive diseases and cancer. Around 61 percent of the combined cost of the two projects would be financed with debt accounting, while the remaining amount would be paid in cash and securities.

The patient tower at Christ Medical Center is part of a $600 million, five-year capital campus plan that includes a future expansion of the emergency room and a nine-story outpatient pavilion that is already under construction.

The new tower is estimated to cost $345.8 million and will add 134 beds—taking the total number of hospital beds to 824. The project will also add around 340,000 square feet and modernize an additional 84,000 square feet. The proposed building is expected to be completed by October 2016, if approved by the facilities board.

The Center for Advanced Care at Illinois Masonic is planned to be built on the vacant site of a former elementary school at Nelson Street and Wilton Avenue. The new construction, connected to the existing hospital, would be designed to accommodate more floors and is estimated to cost around $109.2 million. Upon approval, construction is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2013 and is expected to be finalized in fall 2015.

Photo Courtesy of: www.msichicago.org