massive modern denver medical center gets bond funding

One of the most ambitious healthcare facility projects in Denver history has secured $45 million in funding coming out of the city’s gigantic $937 million general obligation bonds approved by voters last year.

The proposed Outpatient Medical Center will be a part of the Denver Health Medical Center and is slated for construction at 660 Bannock Street in downtown Denver.

First-round bond funding for the 7-story project amounts to $45 million, with an additional $75 million coming through future bond rounds. Altogether, the project is expected to cost $155 million to build.

The new outpatient facility will belong to the Denver Health and Hospital Authority.

In making its presentation to Denver’s General Obligation Bond Public Facilities Committee last year, the Authority said the new facility was needed simply due to demand: outpatients services currently offered by the center are expected next year to reach a capacity of 560,000 patient visits.

“Without a new facility,” the Authority’s summary said, “the medical needs of thousands of Denver’s most vulnerable residents will go unmet.”

Measuring 293,000 square feet, the new outpatient center will house a pharmacy department, surgery services, procedural areas, and up to 20 specialty clinics.

Work on the facility is slated to begin later this year with an anticipated completion date of mid-2020.

The Denver Health Medical Center was originally founded in 1860 and also serves as a teaching hospital.

By Garry Boulard

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