Centre Daily Times
In mid-January the hospital posted on Facebook that the 250-foot tall crane "signals a significant milestone" in the construction process. Construction of the 10-story, $350 million patient tower started this past summer and is expected to be complete by summer 2026.
The patient tower project is the first time this type of crane has ever been used in the United States , the hospital wrote, and there are only seven in the world. It's the largest topless crane assembled in the country and is three times taller than Mount Nittany Medical Center . It took 19 tractor-trailers to move all of the crane parts and assembling the crane took three days and two assistance cranes, the post states.
Robert Donahue , chief facilities management officer at Mount Nittany Medical Center , said in a written statement that the crane gives them access to the full site and elevation of the patient tower.
"(It) is much more efficient and cost-effective than utilizing a series of mobile cranes," he said.
The 10-floor, 300,000-square-foot patient tower will include 168 private rooms, which will allow every patient to have a private room. The new rooms won't increase the bed count but will be used alongside existing private rooms and some double rooms that will be converted to private.
The land development plans include the bed tower addition, a 179 car parking garage and a central energy plant at the existing medical campus.
Currently, construction is happening on the foundations of the patient tower, Donahue said.
"The foundation walls are 36 feet in height and sit on top of a series of micropiles that were drilled down in the ground to set in the molds needed to form the concrete foundations. Right now, we are focused on finishing up the site work, and the next phase will be building the steel frame of the new Patient Tower ," he said in a written statement.
Donahue said there will be "several months" of steelwork and that's when the community will begin to see the shape and scale of the building.
"To give you a sense of the final size, the Tower will be 75% the height of the crane, which itself is 250 feet in height," he said.
There are some changes in parking due to construction, Donahue said, and they are appreciative of the community's understanding. The medical center is offering free valet parking at the main entrance of the Medical Center.
Donahue said they expect to complete the patient tower in summer 2026.
Medical projects around State College
This isn't the only health care project happening in Centre County . Mount Nittany is also constructing a new $90 million , 4-floor outpatient medical center in Toftrees West on a 20-acre campus that plans to open in the spring, according to its website.
Nearby, Penn Highlands expects to open Centre County's second hospital at 239 Colonnade Boulevard , State College in the summer. The $70 million facility and medical office building will offer numerous amenities, including an emergency department with 10 private treatment rooms and a trauma room, a surgical department with three operating suits, as well as one endoscopy procedure room, 18 private inpatient rooms and a medical imaging department.
Adjacent to the hospital is a 32,000-square foot medical office building. The medical office will have services and providers including a walk-in clinic, cancer center, oncologists, radiation services, family medicine, pediatric and specialty care physicians, OB/GYN services, women's medical imaging, lung center, heart center, lab services and a retail pharmacy with a drive-thru, a press release states.
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