MVHS breaks ground on new $480 million downtown Utica hospital

UTICA, N.Y. — The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) on Thursday broke ground on its new hospital in downtown Utica.

The new regional medical center will be a $480 million, 373-bed, 672,000-square-foot, nine story facility. Its campus will also include a central utility plant and parking garage on 25 acres, MVHS said in a Thursday news release.

“Today is the culmination of a lot of hard work by many people and organizations and I am so excited to be here today breaking ground on our future medical center,” Darlene Stromstad, president and CEO of MVHS, said. “This medical center will not only transform the way we deliver healthcare to this community, but it will help continue the redevelopment and resurgence of downtown Utica. Health care is a rapidly changing industry and it’s crucial for a health system to keep up with the advancements being made so that we are able to deliver the best care possible. This new facility will give our wonderful employees the space and technology needed to provide the state-of-the-art care that is needed in our region.”

Milwaukee, Wisconsin–based Hammes Company is the project-management company for the new hospital project. Gilbane Building Company, which is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, is the construction manager for the project. Seattle, Washington–based NBBJ is the architectural firm designing the facility.

CHA Consulting, Inc., an Albany–based engineering consulting firm, is evaluating the potential repurposing of the existing hospital buildings. The firm is conducting an evaluation of the potential reuse of all three campuses (Faxton, St. Luke’s, and St. Elizabeth).

It’s anticipated that the Faxton Campus will stay open and continue to house the MVHS Cancer Center, urgent care, outpatient dialysis, outpatient rehabilitation, and other ancillary services.

CHA’s report and recommendations are due early in 2020, MVHS said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com