When the drive to provide world-class patient care meets innovative design and construction execution – you get the nation’s newest premier healthcare facility. A jewel on the shores of Lake Superior, Essentia Health brings cutting-edge healthcare technology, transforming medicine in Duluth and the upper Midwest for decades to come.
The building, which spans two city blocks in Duluth’s hillside downtown, required advanced planning and coordination in removing more than 53,000 CY of bedrock to support concrete foundations 18 feet thick. In addition, a large majority of the project’s scope was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which required creativity in problem-solving for continuous labor, procurement and infection control challenges.
Now completed – the project includes 942,000 SF of new space and renovation of existing facilities. The hospital tower rises 12 stories above East Second Street while the clinic stands eight stories above Superior Street. The hospital and clinic share connecting floors, including a concourse that provides public amenities to residents of Duluth as well as employees and visitors.
Other Key Features Include:
- Full emergency department with ambulance garage
- Full imaging lab and pharmacy departments
- Women’s & Children’s floor (St. Mary’s Children’s Hospital), including NICU
- Inpatient and outpatient surgery
- 27 ORs, including specialty ORs and procedure rooms
- 3 shelled ORs for future built-out
- 344 patient rooms, including (2) ICU floors
- Flexible room design to allow maximum flexibility of patient room use
- Amenities floor with chapel, meeting rooms, coffee shop, cafeteria
The scope also included significant municipal infrastructure upgrades to support the replacement hospital and surrounding community. Additionally, McGough was a trusted advisor in helping secure entitlements for the project, working directly with governing authorities and city officials on behalf of the client.
A master in managing complexity and creative problem-solving
For decades, we’ve experienced high levels of success in building remarkable structures, focused on positive outcomes for owners who deal in the complex. All the while maintaining a minute focus on quality. In completing this project, we were able to deliver one of the nation’s largest and truly remarkable healthcare projects in recent history, which stands to change the future of patient care.
