Architect's rendering of the new Banner - University Medical Center tower.
Banner Health marked the start of a half-billion dollars’ worth of construction projects in Tucson Thursday when earth was turned for a new tower adjacent to University Medical Center.
The nine-story, 670,000-square-foot tower will go up just west of the existing hospital, which opened in 1971.
The new facility will house operating rooms, laboratories, diagnostic services and more than 200 private patient rooms, with space for additional beds. The hospital’s main entry will face north and the building will have a new cafeteria.
When Banner and the former University of Arizona Medical Center merged last year, the Phoenix-based Banner pledged money for construction and scientific research at both of the university’s medical schools.
“We want to make sure we commit to our two colleges of medicine in the state of Arizona that they have the resources they need," said Kathy Bollinger, Banner University Medicine’ executive vice president. "Those resources are in part, money, in part buildings that actually represent the kind of environment that the next generation of physicians need to learn in and train in.”
Bollinger oversees the University of Arizona’s teaching hospitals in Tucson and Phoenix. She noted the “average life span” of a medical discovery is about three and a half years, so investment in research is necessary for the company to provide the most up-to-date patient care.
The new tower will open in 2019. A portion of the existing hospital will be renovated for use as office space.
Banner will also build a three-story outpatient center on North Campbell Avenue next to the UA Cancer Center. Radiation oncology and medical imaging will move to that campus, and the facility also will have adult multi-specialty clinic space.
Banner Health, University of Arizona and city of Tucson officials broke ground for the new University Medical Center hospital May 26, 2016.The Arizona Science Desk is a collaboration of public broadcasting entities in the state, including Arizona Public Media.
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