Groundbreaking Healthcare

Connecticut Children’s Underway on $326M Clinical Tower

Rendering of Connecticut Children’s clinical tower

Hartford, CT – As part of Connecticut Children’s growth and expansion plan, a groundbreaking was held recently for a 190,000sf, $326 million clinical tower connected to the existing medical center in Hartford. The new tower will serve as a new front gateway for the children’s hospital when it opens in late 2025.

The clinical tower will include two floors with 50 private neonatal intensive care rooms; a fetal care center with six labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms; two dedicated operating rooms; and an advanced gene therapy unit where bone marrow transplants and liquid radiation treatments can be performed. A 14-bed acuity adaptable unit can flex to accommodate any level of patient acuity. The facility also includes expanded kitchen facilities, high tech meeting and conference space, and an expanded pharmacy and gift shop. All of the care spaces in the tower are designed to be adaptable and evolve as care needs change into the future.

Experiential design also drives the new tower, and the building actively works to connect patients, their families and staff with the natural world. Each inpatient floor offers an open-air terrace for fresh air and respite and the building is sited to maximize the positive impacts of a ground level courtyard as people arrive and move through the building. The tower’s metal palette transforms from mostly green at the lower levels to blue shades as it reaches upward toward the sky, another nod to biophilia and nature’s impact on human health.

Connecticut Children’s team members, patient families and leaders attended the superhero themed groundbreaking ceremony, which was held on the 10th anniversary of the health system’s superhero day – a day where patients, families, team members and supporters of Connecticut Children’s dress as their favorite superhero as a reminder of their strength, courage and bravery.

“Connecticut Children’s is proud to be a member of the Hartford community, and through our investment into the region and state, we will not only provide excellent clinical care, but also drive the local economy by creating more jobs, bringing training to the next generation of medical professionals and reinforcing Connecticut as a destination for care in the country,” said Jim Shmerling, DHA, FACHE, president and CEO, Connecticut Children’s.

The construction manager for the project is DPR Construction. Many of the design and construction team members involved in the project participated in the groundbreaking by wearing their favorite superhero costume and joining in on the theme and the fun. CannonDesign is the architect of record for the expansion, which involves dozens of local design and construction partners.