The University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora unveiled expansion plans Wednesday that include construction of a new $400-million, 12-story patient tower.

The hospital will also spend $20 million to expand the University of Colorado Cancer Center to meet a substantial increase in demand for hospital services.

“UCH has been working near or above capacity since moving our inpatient facilities to the Anschutz Medical Campus in 2007,” said Bruce Schroffel, president and CEO of UCH. “The demand for our services only promises to grow, and expanding the hospital will help us to continue serving a growing patient population.”

UCH’s hospital expansion will create a 660,000-sq-ft building dedicated to inpatient and emergency care and renovate 60,000 sq ft of existing space. The new tower will house 144 additional beds, a four-story, critical-care wing containing a new emergency department, more operating rooms a cardiac and vascular center, and a six-story parking garage.

“We are expanding in a big way,” said Schroffel. “This project means we will be creating 1,400 new well-paying jobs for the state of Colorado, including approximately 650 new construction jobs.”

The hospital said Wednesday it will pay for the new tower with cash and some debt service, depending on the economy. UCH’s revenue has increased to $265 million annually from $170 million in 2008.

“The cash [for this project] comes from patient revenues. We’ve been extraordinarily disciplined in terms of managing our costs over the last four years,” added Schroffel.

Cannon Designs of St. Louis, Mo., designed the first phase of the project. UCH is seeking an architect for the tower and will open bids for a contractor in the coming weeks, Schroffel said.

The new building is slated to open in 2013.

The cancer center will include 36,000 sq ft of new construction and 11,000 sq ft of renovated space. It will house 18 new chemotherapy infusion bays, 13 exam rooms, a treatment vault for expanded radiation therapy and three additional clinic team rooms.

“UCH is a great asset to the community,” said Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer. “The added jobs are a terrific win, and the secret bonus is the quality of the people working at the hospital.”

The new hospital tower is among a handful of projects planned or currently under construction at or near the Aurora medical campus.

Construction recently started on a new $80-million, office-and-hotel project south of the campus. Construction will begin in June on a new $150-million, 10-story addition to the Children’s Hospital, east of the UCH.

“This bold expansion—this continued building of a health care city—is not only a great boon for our economy and our state, but our opportunity to accelerate the hospital’s work in improving the health of all our communities,” said Peter H. Coors, UCH Foundation chairman.