UofL Health plans new $144 million, 9-story building in downtown Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- UofL Health is planning a nine-story tower at its University Hospital complex in downtown Louisville.

The building would be next to the main hospital at the northeast corner of Jackson and East Chestnut streets and include four new operating rooms and at least 68 private beds, according to preliminary bond documents filed with Metro Council.

Also in the plans for the tower are 24 observation beds and 34 post-anesthesia care unit beds. University Hospital would have 404 licensed beds once the project is complete -- its current level and the cap set forth in its state-granted certificate of need.

Part of the new tower would remain unfinished but could be used for other expansions of UofL Health operations, the bond documents say. The estimated cost is $144 million, with construction to start as early as next month and be finished by late 2024.

UofL Health is pursuing the new facility as a result of increasing patient volumes, according to the documents.

The project would be financed in part by a $415 million bond offering that would need Metro Council approval, although UofL Health and not the city would be responsible for the debt. An ordinance supporting the financing has been assigned to the council's Labor and Economic Development Committee.

A UofL spokesman said it was too early to discuss the plans, which became public for the first time on Wednesday, according to the Metro Council.

The bonds also would pay for a new $60 million hospital in Bullitt County. The expansion of Medical Center South in Brooks calls for 40 licensed beds, driven by the growth of medical services there and overall population increase in Bullitt County, according to the bond documents.

Construction is expected to start in July and be complete by the end of 2023.

The funding also would pay for a undisclosed series of new investments in equipment and upgrades to current facilities over a 10-year period. A UofL Health spokesman declined to answer questions about those plans.

UofL Health said in a statement that it is "seeking Metro Government support for Hospital Revenue Bonds to invest back into our facilities. It is premature to talk about further specifics until plans are finalized."