Hospitals
Team Named to Build Chicago Hospital's First Suburban In-Patient Pediatric Hospital
Proposed hospital is part of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital's strategy to create an integrated pediatric health care system.
Chicago-based Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital has targeted west suburban Downers Grove for its first inpatient pediatric hospital outside of downtown Chicago.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has begun planning for a low-acuity pediatric hospital in west suburban Downers Grove, Ill., which would be its first inpatient facility outside downtown Chicago.
The hospital has engaged a design-build team led by Clayco to support planning and delivery of the proposed facility. The team also includes Chicago-based Skender, architectural and design firm ZGF, and LJC Design & Engineering of Chicago.
The planned hospital, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to include a pediatric emergency department, surgery suites, inpatient beds and a range of pediatric subspecialties, including oncology, cardiology, gastroenterology and orthopedics. If approved, it would be Lurie Children’s first inpatient hospital outside its flagship Streeterville campus.
Project costs and the exact site have not yet been announced.
Hospital officials said nearly half of children living in Chicago’s western suburbs—about 47%—currently must leave their communities to receive inpatient pediatric care. The Downers Grove hospital is intended to keep care local and coordinated while also creating economic opportunities for the region.
“This new facility represents a significant and needed investment in local health infrastructure and pediatric health,” Downers Grove Mayor Bob Barnett said in a statement.
Hospital leaders described the project as a key component of Lurie Children’s long-term growth strategy as it evolves from a single hospital into a more integrated pediatric health care system.
In addition to its main hospital, Lurie Children’s operates more than 20 outpatient centers and partners with 10 hospitals across the Chicago area. In September, it opened a 75,000-sq-ft outpatient center in Schaumburg. Skender served as general contractor on the $61.5-million project, with HKS as architect, IMEG Corp. as structural engineer and V3 Cos. as civil engineer.
In Chicago, Lurie Children’s is also developing the Austin HOPE Center, a community health and wellness facility under construction on the city’s West Side and scheduled to open this fall.
The three-story, approximately 25,000-sq-ft building has a total development cost of about $22 million. UJAMAA Construction is the general contractor, and the project was designed by Gregory Ramon Design Studio and TnS Studio.
When complete, the center will house clinical and behavioral health services alongside community health programs. Plans also include flexible community spaces and a bank branch focused on financial empowerment, positioning the Austin HOPE Center as a hub for health care and neighborhood investment.
