Hennepin County Medical Center Announces Plans to Expand Downtown Campus

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Hennepin County Medical Center recently announced the construction of a new 322,000-square-foot clinic and specialty center. The addition will expand its downtown Minneapolis campus and aims to meet the growing demand for outpatient and specialty services.

The new construction will be located directly across from the Emergency Department on Eighth Street, between Park and Chicago avenues. The Hennepin County Board has already approved spending $10 million to acquire the property. The total cost of the new building, including the land and the relocation of a helipad, is estimated at around $191 million. The project will be financed through the sale of bonds.

Jon Pryor, CEO of Hennepin Healthcare System Inc., said: “First and foremost, this new facility will improve the experience for our patients. Right now, our primary care and specialty care clinics downtown are spread across nine buildings that we own or lease. Bringing them together into one building will make it more convenient for our patients and more efficient for our staff.”

The new building, which is scheduled to open in 2016, will include primary care clinics, specialty clinics and outpatient surgery facilities. According to a recent study, the current downtown facilities will be over capacity by 2017. The Hennepin Healthcare System board of directors chose the site for the new building after assessing numerous options for configuring the campus and reviewing a number of possible sites.

Noted Board Chair Sharon Sayles Belton: “This will be a centerpiece of our downtown campus, and more important, enable us to provide quality care to our current and expanding patient base efficiently and effectively. HCMC has been a good neighbor, major employer and community partner in the Elliot Park neighborhood for more than 40 years, and with this project we will participate in the continued transformation of the east side of downtown Minneapolis.”

The new construction will be only blocks away from the Wells Fargo office and residential development that is scheduled to break ground in May and the new Vikings stadium that will open in 2016.

Logo courtesy of www.hcmc.org.