A year after the New Wishard hospital groundbreaking, the 1.2 million-square-foot facility is rising into the Indianapolis skyline while maintaining a path that is under budget, ahead of goals for local and diverse participation in construction and on schedule to open in 2014.
“This time last year, some of our community’s most respected leaders joined us as we gathered next to a hole in the ground where the future of health care in our community would eventually stand,” said Dr. Lisa Harris, CEO and medical director at Wishard.
“We are tremendously grateful to our community for making a new Wishard possible. Today, the construction site holds the rising foundation of the new hospital, outpatient care building and parking garage,” said Harris.
The New Wishard project is said to be the largest single-site construction project in Central Indiana and one of the largest in the state. This project is also creating more than 4,400 jobs. The $754 million hospital will feature 327 inpatient beds in addition to Wishard’s renowned adult Level I Trauma Center and adult burn center.
Matthew R. Gutwein, president and CEO at Health and Hospital Corp. of Marion County, which operates Wishard, said, “By the end of the year, our construction team will top off the structural steel at the 12th level. Even today you can stand at the White River State Park or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street and see the New Wishard rising four and five levels above the surface.”
The New Wishard project has progressed efficiently during the last year, having executed approximately $135 million in construction contracts and continuing on track to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which would make it one of 10 newly built hospitals in America – and the first in Indiana – to achieve LEED Silver or higher.
The New Wishard Diversity Team, working in partnership with the City of Indianapolis Department of Minority and Women Business Development, has conducted more than 70 outreach events, workshops and meetings for minority, women and veteran-owned business enterprise (M/W/VBE) contractors. Wishard has committed more than 29 percent to M/W/VBEs and has surpassed its goal for each. The majority of all firms winning contracts on the project are local, with more than 85 percent in the Indianapolis metro area.
Visit TheNewWishard.org to learn more about the project and view the webcam, which includes a one-year time lapse video. Learn more about Wishard Health Services at Wishard.edu.
