By HFT Staff

UCHealth is planning a major expansion to Memorial Hospital North that will nearly double its size to meet the growing health care needs of the community. 

Highlights of phase 1 of the hospital expansion include additional operating rooms and a new inpatient tower that will initially open with 36 new medical-surgical beds and 14 ICU beds. In addition, a six-level parking garage will be built to accommodate patients, visitors and staff. 

The project encompasses nearly 330,000 square feet of new construction at the hospital, with about 45 percent of the space slated to be built out for immediate use and the rest designated as shelled space for future growth. The additional space will also allow Memorial North to continue to grow its cancer center, adding clinical trials and advanced treatments. 

The $407 million expansion project at UCHealth Memorial Hospital North includes: 

• A new six-story inpatient tower that will increase the hospital’s bed capacity from 140 to 190, with room to grow to 320 beds. 
• Four new operating rooms in phase 1, with four more planned in future phases, for an eventual total of 18 ORs at the hospital. 
• An expanded kitchen and dining space to better accommodate patients, visitors and staff. 
• A laboratory expansion. 
• Space for an additional 12 emergency department exam rooms. 
• Future expansion of imaging services. 
• Renovation of the main lobby to incorporate new tower. 
• A 979-stall, six-level parking structure to ensure sufficient parking for patients, visitors and staff. Surface parking also will be expanded. 

Work will initially begin on the parking garage, with groundbreaking on the structure expected in early 2025 and completion in 2027. Construction on the patient tower is slated for 2026 with a projected opening to patients in 2029. 

This will be the second major expansion at the 140-bed hospital. In late 2018, the hospital expanded its emergency department and added operating rooms; in early 2019, it opened an addition that houses a birth center, pharmacy and oncology services.