INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University Health is advancing a $1.6 billion expansion project that will consolidate its Downtown Indianapolis campuses and create a new 576-bed hospital south of IU Health Methodist Hospital.
IU Health filed plans with the city Wednesday that request a Central Business District special development classification for the 44-acre medical campus expansion that will extend from 16th Street to 12th Street and from Capitol Avenue west to Interstate 65, a news release said.
Operations at IU Health Methodist and University hospitals will be consolidated when the new facility opens in 2026. The Methodist Hospital complex will undergo renovation and be integrated into the larger campus.
“The time has come to move ahead on this transformative project to revitalize our downtown facilities,” Dennis Murphy, president and CEO of IU Health, said in a news release. “It has taken us several years to imagine, analyze, and decide how best to proceed. Together with city officials, neighbors and other partners, we are designing a campus with a destination hospital to provide state-of-the-art care for future generations of Hoosiers.”
The preliminary blueprint for the new hospital calls for three glass-fronted towers of about 10 stories with a rooftop helipad and enclosed walkways to nearby buildings and a parking garage.
The new hospital will hold up to 576 private patient beds and outpatient care areas. Parts of the Methodist complex will be connected to the new hospital via walkways.
“The coronavirus pandemic has critically influenced the design of the new hospital and campus, reinforcing the need for a flexible design with acuity-adaptable spaces, including sufficient intensive care units to handle surges of ill or infectious patients,” Dr. Ryan Nagy, president of IU Health Methodist and University hospitals, said.
The expanded campus will also include research and education facilities for the IU School of Medicine.
