UConn Health Tops Off Hospital Tower

FARMINGTON, Conn. — The last steel beam for UConn Health’s new hospital tower on its Farmington campus was set in place on Sept. 8 during a topping off ceremony led by Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy.

Entering the last stretch of construction on the new patient-care tower for John Dempsey Hospital marks a milestone for Bioscience Connecticut, the state’s $1 billion plan to fund capital projects. The major initiative, which launched in 2010 and stretches into 2018, is intended to make Connecticut a worldwide destination for biomedical research and health care.

The 11-floor, 169-bed patient tower includes key patient areas such as the emergency department, surgery suites and inpatient rehabilitation space. The $318 million building also includes a 28-bed ICU and a public garage with 402 spaces. The tower is scheduled for occupancy in early 2016.

In addition to the new tower, the hospital is spending $163 million on hospital renovations. Those include replacements and upgrades to the HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems. Improvements will also expand the cardiology center, pharmacy and pathology labs. Four vacated hospital floors for clinical support and translational research will also be renovated.

Dallas-based HKS and Boston-based Steffian Bradley Architects are providing design services for the hospital. The designers are incorporating best practices for stability with the aim of achieving a minimum of LEED Silver certification.

Construction planned for the Bioscience Connecticut project also includes the new 300,000-square foot UConn Health Outpatient Pavilion, scheduled to open in January, and the 189,000-square foot Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, as well as research lab renovations and changes to academic buildings.

The new outpatient building will relocate outpatient services that are currently housed in the Dowling South and Dowling North Medical Office buildings. It will also add 60,000 square feet for new clinician scientist recruits, as well as patient-centered services such as a café, healing garden and retail space.

The Bioscience Connecticut projects to date have created more than 2,600 construction jobs with 81 percent of the contracts awarded to Connecticut companies, an accomplishment that Gov. Malloy had envisioned would reinvent the local economy.

“This is a proud day, not only for the thousands of hard-working men and women who have spent the last 18 months building this facility, but for our entire state,” Malloy said during the topping off ceremony. “Bioscience Connecticut has always been about the future, about what kinds of industries we want our state to be a leader in. The progress being made here is a brick-and-mortar example of what we can do when we pull together and make the tough decisions that will benefit our state over the long term. We are not just making investments, we are seeing results — results that over the long term will mean good-paying jobs with good benefits in an industry that is poised for growth throughout the 21st century.”