Vanderbilt University Monday announced plans for the University Hospital’s largest expansion ever.
“Through this project a new [Vanderbilt University Hospital] inpatient tower will be built atop an existing parking structure located between 21st Avenue South and Medical Center Drive. Access to the new tower’s entrance will be through Vivien Thomas Way,” according to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The project will begin right away, and is expected to take nearly five years to complete.
“When finished, the lobby entrance of the new 15-level, 470,000-square-foot tower will face 21st Avenue South while its west façade will be connected to VUH’s main structure, located across Medical Center Drive, by bridges spanning the street,” the university said. “The new VUH tower will provide additional adult inpatient beds, operating rooms, clinics and office space.”
The university, which said that it expects to add 180 inpatient beds and 10 operating rooms, along with expanding other services like radiology and specialty clinics, says its expansion will help to meet the demand of Middle Tennessee’s ever-growing population.
There will also be 600 additional parking spaces available once the expansion project is complete.
The university will demolish an existing administrative building called the Oxford House, which was originally constructed 60 years ago.
The last major upgrade to the hospital was made in 2009, when 11 new floors called the Critical Care Tower were erected, adding 102 beds and 12 operating rooms.
“Prior to 2020, our health system was already experiencing the need for additional capacity to care for critically ill adult patients,” said Dr. Jeff Balser, the president and CEO for VUMC and dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “The unprecedented demand placed on our people and facilities during the pandemic underscored the strategic importance for this new facility. This investment will position the Medical Center to better meet the needs of the increasingly diverse population we serve and strengthen our mission to improve the health of people throughout the region.”
The school selected the New York City-based architecture firm Blair, Mui + Dowd, to complete the project.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Vanderbilt University Medical Center” by Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
