flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Healthcare construction costs for 2023

Healthcare Facilities

Healthcare construction costs for 2023

Data from Gordian breaks down the average cost per square foot for a three-story hospital across 10 U.S. cities.


By Gordian | April 13, 2023
Healthcare construction costs for 2023
Photo: Jonathan Meyer, Pexels

Many factors contribute to the rising costs of healthcare construction—the need for critical system upgrades, infectious disease prevention, environmental responsibility measures, labor shortages, inflationary impacts and supply chain disruptions are some of the most noteworthy.

According to Gordian’s RSMeans Online Building Models, the national average cost per square foot for commercial new construction of hospitals is more than 15% higher today than in 2019.

The evolution of treatments and technology advancements are a few reasons for hospital systems to expand and improve their facilities. Facilities upgrades done to reduce the risk of viral outbreaks are here to stay. Partitioning, automated kiosks, hand sanitation devices, improved signage and lighting, and socially distanced waiting areas are now expected when entering healthcare facilities.

Current and accurate construction cost data is critical to help healthcare project owners implement the facilities upgrades their patients need. Gordian’s data features over 100 building models, including hospital buildings. These localized models allow architects, engineers and other preconstruction professionals to quickly and accurately create conceptual estimates for future builds.

This table shows a five-year view of costs per square foot for three-story hospital buildings. 

Visit rsmeans.com/bdandc for more information about RSMeans data from Gordian. 

Location

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

National Average

$362.69

$371.48

$382.12

$400.11

$419.18

New York, NY

$484.88

$494.19

$506.94

$523.11

$540.45

Chicago, IL

$436.50

$444.21

$456.40

$474.03

$494.76

Boston, MA

$414.67

$427.46

$433.44

$454.36

$479.38

Los Angeles, CA

$409.55

$419.04

$430.83

$452.05

$475.20

Ann Arbor, MI

$362.97

$369.02

$382.83

$396.83

$409.43

Omaha, NE

$330.20

$340.43

$352.74

$363.59

$383.59

Denver, CO

$323.44

$333.80

$345.51

$362.23

$378.97

Atlanta, GA

$322.76

$329.05

$342.71

$359.46

$375.52

Phoenix, AR

$320.55

$327.81

$332.73

$351.97

$373.71

Houston, TX

$312.00

$320.44

$329.72

$341.67

$357.30

Please note: Square foot models are used for planning and budgeting and are not meant for detailed estimates.

Related Stories

| Mar 1, 2011

New survey shows shifts in hospital construction projects

America’s hospitals and health systems are focusing more on renovation or expansion than new construction, according to a new survey conducted by Health Facilities Management magazine and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE). In fact, renovation or expansion accounted for 73% of construction projects at hospitals responding to the survey.

| Feb 22, 2011

HDR Architecture names four healthcare directors

Four senior professionals in HDR Architecture’s healthcare program have been named Healthcare directors.

| Feb 17, 2011

HDR Architecture sponsors national effort to green operating rooms

HDR Architecture, Inc. has joined the group of corporate sponsors of Practice Greenhealth’s Greening the Operating Room Initiative. This sweeping and prescriptive path to green the nation’s operating rooms was launched earlier this year to reduce the environmental footprint of the operating suites in hospitals across the country, which can produce between 20 and 30% of a hospital’s total waste.

| Feb 11, 2011

Iowa surgery center addresses both inpatient and outpatient care

The 12,000-person community of Carroll, Iowa, has a new $28 million surgery center to provide both inpatient and outpatient care. Minneapolis-based healthcare design firm Horty Elving headed up the four-story, 120,000-sf project for St. Anthony’s Regional Hospital. The center’s layout is based on a circular process flow, and includes four 800-sf operating rooms with poured rubber floors to reduce leg fatigue for surgeons and support staff, two substerile rooms between each pair of operating rooms, and two endoscopy rooms adjacent to the outpatient prep and recovery rooms. Recovery rooms are clustered in groups of four. The large family lounge (left) has expansive windows with views of the countryside, and television monitors that display coded information on patient status so loved ones can follow a patient’s progress.

| Feb 11, 2011

Two projects seek to reinvigorate Los Angeles County medical center

HMC Architects designed two new buildings for the Los Angeles County Martin Luther King, Jr., Medical Center as part of a $360 million plan to reinvigorate the campus. The buildings include a 120-bed hospital, which involves renovation of an existing tower and several support buildings, and the construction of a new multi-service ambulatory care center. The new facilities will have large expanses of glass at all waiting and public areas for unobstructed views of downtown Los Angeles. A curved glass entrance canopy will unite the two buildings. When both projects are completed—the hospital in 2012 and the ambulatory care center in 2013—the campus will have added more than 460,000 sf of space. The hospital will seek LEED certification, while the ambulatory care center is targeting LEED Silver.

| Feb 9, 2011

Hospital Construction in the Age of Obamacare

The recession has hurt even the usually vibrant healthcare segment. Nearly three out of four hospital systems have put the brakes on capital projects.  We asked five capital expenditure insiders for their advice on how Building Teams can still succeed in this highly competitive sector.

| Jan 31, 2011

Cuningham Group Architecture launches Healthcare studio with Lee Brennan

International design firm Cuningham Group Architecture, P.A. (Cuningham Group) has announced the arrival of Lee Brennan, AIA, as Principal and Leader of its new Healthcare studio. Brennan comes to Cuningham Group with over 30 years of professional experience, 22 of those years in healthcare, encompassing all aspects of project delivery, from strategic planning and programming through design and construction. The firm’s new Healthcare studio will enhance Cuningham Group’s expertise in leisure and entertainment, education, mixed-use/housing and workplace environments.

| Jan 31, 2011

HDR Architecture Releases Evidence-based Design Videos

As a follow-up to its book Evidence-based Design for Healthcare Facilities, HDR Architecture, Inc. has released three video case studies that highlight evidence-based design principles in action.

| Jan 31, 2011

CISCA releases White Paper on Acoustics in Healthcare Environments

The Ceilings & Interior Systems Construction Association (CISCA) has released an extensive white paper “Acoustics in Healthcare Environments” for architects, interior designers, and other design professionals who work to improve healthcare settings for all users. This white paper serves as a comprehensive introduction to the acoustical issues commonly confronted on healthcare projects and howbest to address those.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Great Solutions

41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021