News
ONE BILLION DOLLARS
August 3, 2011
| The new Ann M and Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago will be the biggest kid on the playground (or at 23 stories, the tallest children's hospital in the US) when it opens in June 2012. The 130-year-old hospital is moving from Lincoln Park to Streeterville in 2012. And yes, at $915M, the project would be almost $1B, if it weren't scheduled to come in under budget by $60M. |
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| The man with the plan, Bruce Komiske, who has managed the move or building of five children's hospitals, is speaking at the Bisnow Healthcare Summit on Aug. 16. Bruce (yes, he can make his hand completely invisible) tells us new and expanding hospital projects helped the construction industry through the recession, and the recession helped hospitals by keeping costs down. Still, he's seeing the economy's negative impact on philanthropy. Children's hospitals have changed since Bruce started planning new hospitals. Now,private rooms where parents can stay overnight are standard. (Rooms at the new Children's will be 290 SF and include bathrooms.) As a part of the effort to make the hospital less scary, local museums and cultural institutions have donated art, exhibitions, and fun toys like a full-size fire truck cab from the fire station and a salt-water aquarium from the Shedd. |
