LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Construction crews are making progress on the $190 million expansion at University of Louisville Hospital that's expected to add new beds, several new rooms and hundreds of jobs.
It has been about a year since ground was broken on the project, and it's now beginning to take shape.
They plan to open the first floor of the tower in January of 2025. Then, they'll continue to build up.
The "West Tower" is part of a planned expansion and upgrade of the hospital. Officials said the expansion will allow the hospital to treat more patients and reduce wait times. Once the seven-story tower is complete, UofL Hospital will expand to 360 private beds, 20 operating rooms, and a new 24-bed observation unit.
This rendering shows what University of Louisville Hospital in downtown Louisville is expected to look like when a $190 million tower expansion project is completed. (Chris Chandler/UofL Health photo)
UofL Health Chief Operating Officer Ken Marshall told WDRB the new space is in high demand, because every bed inside of their hospital is full right now.
"Our mission here has been to take care of the community we have," Marshall said. "This is going to allow us to do that, and it's going to allow us to do it in a facility that is state of the art and meets the needs of what people are really expecting of us here."
Marshall said they've been planning the new tower for about a decade.
Pictured: this image dated Sept. 6, 2023, shows construction crews continuing work to complete a new tower for UofL Hospital on Jackson Street in downtown Louisville, Ky. (WDRB image)
Crews have already moved city water lines, laid new pipe, and started building the foundation of the elevator shafts.
"You can see the construction for two sets of elevator towers, Steve Amsler, UofL Health's Senior VP of Operations, said. "There's a public elevator set and a patient elevator set. That's those big concrete things. Right now is the base of those and they will form the walls that'll help stabilize the building as it goes up."
Patient rooms levels will be floors 3, 5, 6 and 7. The second floor will be for surgeries, while the first floor will be for observations.
The expansion will also add a new lobby, waiting area and updates to the hospital's gift and coffee shops.
Marshall said the good news is they aren't opening all at once, which he hopes will give them enough time to fill all the needed positions.
"If I told you I wasn't worried at all, I'd be lying. I think what works in our favor is we are not opening this all at once," Marshall said.
This week, they started looking for nurses and people to fill ancillary positions.
Crews broke ground on Monday, June 6, 2022 on a $144 million expansion at University of Louisville Hospital. (WDRB photo)
Funding for the project comes from internal capital investment, bond financing, hospital revenue bonds and private donations. Originally, it was expected to be about a $144 million dollar investment, but with prices going up, it's now going to be about a $190 million dollar expansion project.
Crews broke ground on the expansion last June.
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