Rush to build $473M tower, expanding Near West Side medical campus

The hospital system projects the 11-story project to wrap up in 2022

Rush University Medical Center Tower, CEO of Rush system
Rush University Medical Center Tower, CEO of Rush system

Rush University Medical Center has unveiled a $473 million plan for a new 530,000-square-foot cancer and neurological care facility across from its existing campus in the Illinois Medical District.

A fourth-floor walkway would cross Ashland Avenue to connect the 11-story building with the hospital’s existing star-shaped tower at 1630 West Harrison Street, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Pending final approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, the new building is projected to open by 2022. The hospital system will fund the project through a combination of operating revenue and debt refinancing.

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The system projected 20 percent growth in its outpatient care capacity between 2017 and 2019, with new facilities in River North, the South Loop and west suburban Oak Brook.

The semi-public Illinois Medical District, which oversees more than 500 acres comprising dozens of hospital and health care tenants on the Near West Side, netted $40 million when it sold off 26 acres to private buyers.

This spring, Civic Health Development Group broke ground on its redevelopment of the 345,000-square-foot former Cook County Hospital at 1835 West Harrison Street.