Will Irvine become the nation’s next healthcare hub?

It’s not just Hoag Hospital that will sink $1 billion into expanding its hospital in Irvine. Other major health care brands are poised to build facilities to house hundreds of new hospital beds.

In the next three to five years, a half dozen health firms will either expand or break ground in Irvine, constructing several million square feet of new hospital and health education centers, the Orange County Register reported.

The new hospital facilities could house 350 new care beds, turning Irvine into a major healthcare hub by 2030.

Hoag, City of Hope, UC Irvine, Kaiser Permanente, the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, Memorialcare, BeWell OC — all have joined a medical stampede into the OC city.

Hoag Hospital Irvine has already launched a $1 billion expansion of more than 1 million square feet, adding six new buildings with three specialized institutes at 16200 Sand Canyon Avenue. When complete, it will double its number of beds to 321, with larger patient rooms.

The revamped Hoag campus will be called Sun Family Campus to recognize a $50 million gift to Hoag this year by Diana and David Sun.

Last year, Duarte-based City of Hope opened its Lennar Foundation Cancer Center off Barranca Parkway. It is now building the $1 billion cancer hospital next door, to open in 2025.

UC Irvine expects to open its $1.3 billion medical complex and 144-bed hospital the same year.

Irvine officials insist the health expansion isn’t coming as a result of tax breaks or other perks. Instead, Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan said it’s based on good neighborhoods, strong schools, close transportation and a well-educated workforce.

Other health-centric development zones, such as the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and the Texas Medical Center in Houston, have become go-to spots for people seeking care and cures.

That’s mainly because those hospitals operate within a healthcare ecosystem – surrounded by satellite companies, specialty health providers and research institutions that draw top physicians and scientists.

Irvine residents stand to gain by the multi-billion-dollar health building boom.

In addition to thousands of high-paying jobs, a healthcare boom could play out as a long-term boost for everything from the regional housing market to local schools.

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Los Angeles

Hoag Hospital Irvine launches $1B expansion

Los Angeles

City of Hope to build $1B hospital at Lennar spinoff property

The Irvine health trend could lift education, research and local business. 

Six miles north of the Hoag Irvine hospital, across UC Irvine’s main campus, crews are adding  2.5 million square feet of medical school, office and research labs. Chad Lefteris, chief executive of UC Irvine Health, calls it the “health affairs impact.”

— Dana Bartholomew