Massachusetts General Hospital formally delivered a letter to the city yesterday announcing its intention to build a $1 billion, state-of-the art addition to help meet the hospital’s rapidly increasing demands for medical care and service.
According to hospital officials, the project would consist of two connected, 12-story towers located entirely within the MGH campus, with its facade facing Cambridge Street. The top six floors of both towers will accommodate inpatient units with approximately 450 single-bed patient rooms while the building would also be home operating/interventional rooms, a procedural suite, imaging facilities, exam rooms and infusion centers, as well as a café and retail space along Cambridge Street. Six levels of below-grade parking beneath the new building would provide more than 1,000 spaces and help to compensate for the parking strain caused by the closure of the Parkman Garage.
Also, the project would call for the removal of the Parkman Garage, Lawrence House and Professional Office Building, as well as the Ruth Sleeper Hall, the West End House and an unoccupied structure on North Anderson Street.
Construction is expected to begin sometime in 2020 and hospital officials said the underground garage and the first phase of the building on the Blossom Street side could be completed in 2023, with the second phase of construction on the Parkman Garage side slated for completion by late 2026.
State Rep. Jay Livingstone said, “MGH is a great hospital, and improving its ability to provide more services to more people is generally a good thing. I’m looking forward to finding ways to minimize the negative impacts on the West End and Beacon Hill. I’m particularly concerned with traffic on Cambridge Street and look forward to working with MGH to address this ongoing issue.”
City Councilor Josh Zakim said, “This is a significant proposal, and I look forward to working with MGH, [the Boston Planning and Development Agency] and neighbors as we go through the community review process.” (The Beacon Hill Civic Association will also be part of the process.)
Zakim continued, “Aside from this project on its own campus, there is a real opportunity here where MGH can work with the city and neighbors to address some of the issues on Cambridge Street as part of this project.”
Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement to The Boston Globe: ““It’s important that our hospitals are making the improvements needed to keep Boston at the global forefront of health care. We look forward to closely reviewing Mass. General Hospital’s proposal once it is filed and beginning the comprehensive public process with input from the community.”