Swedish Health Services, based in Seattle, has commenced construction on the North Tower project at its First Hill Campus. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, this $1.3 billion development will span 750,000 square feet and include a state-of-the-art acute care facility as well as an outpatient and imaging services building along with office space.
The 12-story tower will boast 24 advanced operating suites and a spacious emergency department with 31 rooms (including eight dedicated to behavioral healthcare). Plans for a second tower of approximately 900,000 square feet are also in the works. This expansion will more than double the size of Swedish’s campus from its current size of 1.5 million to an impressive total of over three million square feet.
Although specific financial details were not disclosed by Providence (which has been affiliated with Swedish for ten years), their board of trustees approved funding for the North Tower project and secured a construction loan that Swedish plans to pay off gradually through philanthropic support. With over thirteen thousand employees currently on staff – including more than four thousand at First Hill alone – this expansion is expected to have significant positive impacts on both job growth and community health initiatives within Seattle’s healthcare sector.
