The University of Chicago Medicine (UChicago Medicine) is building Chicago’s first freestanding cancer center with inpatient and outpatient services. Aiming to bridge longstanding health disparities on Chicago’s South Side, the $815 million project will consolidate care and about 200 team members currently spread across at least five buildings.
The new facility, which broke ground in September, is expected to open to patients in spring 2027.
Designed by CannonDesign in collaboration with Blue Cottage of CannonDesign and Yazdani Studio, the center will serve both patient and academic needs by supporting the research, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer. It will have a capacity for up to 200,000 outpatient visits and 5,000 inpatient admissions per year.
The 575,000-sf, seven-story building, with room for expansion, will offer 80 inpatient beds (64 medical-surgical beds and a 16-bed ICU), 90 consultation and outpatient exam rooms, and an urgent care clinic that protects immunocompromised cancer patients from extended emergency room visits. To promote patient comfort and privacy, private infusion bays will be grouped by cancer type.
To improve the patient experience, the new facility will provide support services for patients and their families—including lifestyle classes, nutrition education, survivor support, music therapy, fitness classes, and a retail store selling cancer-specific products such as wigs or clothing with openings for ports. Family-friendly features also will include showers and on-site laundry machines, inpatient family dining areas, and larger consultation rooms for patients who attend appointments with loved ones.
In addition to a ground floor that serves both the University of Chicago campus and the surrounding neighborhood, amenities include a café, wellness and meeting spaces, public art, educational opportunities, and a publicly accessible garden.
The project will create more than 500 construction jobs and will give at least 41% of $435 million in construction contracts to minority- and women-owned firms.
On the Building Team:
Owner: University of Chicago Medicine (UChicago Medicine)
Design architect and architect of record: CannonDesign
MEP engineer: Affiliated Engineers with RTM Engineers
Structural engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
Contractor: Turner Construction
![UChicago Medicine first freestanding cancer center Rendering courtesy CannonDesign](/sites/default/files/inline-images/UChicago%20Medicine%20first%20freestanding%20cancer%20center%2001-ATRIUM1.png)
![UChicago Medicine first freestanding cancer center Rendering courtesy CannonDesign](/sites/default/files/inline-images/UChicago%20Medicine%20first%20freestanding%20cancer%20center%2001-ATRIUM2.png)
![UChicago Medicine first freestanding cancer center Rendering courtesy CannonDesign](/sites/default/files/inline-images/UChicago%20Medicine%20first%20freestanding%20cancer%20center%20230512_DUSK%20VIEW%20FINAL_LEADERSHIP%20PRESENTATION.jpg)
![UChicago Medicine first freestanding cancer center Rendering courtesy CannonDesign](/sites/default/files/inline-images/UChicago%20Medicine%20first%20freestanding%20cancer%20center%20NE_FINAL.jpg)
![UChicago Medicine first freestanding cancer center Rendering courtesy CannonDesign](/sites/default/files/inline-images/UChicago%20Medicine%20first%20freestanding%20cancer%20center%20NW_FINAL.jpg)
![UChicago Medicine first freestanding cancer center Rendering courtesy CannonDesign](/sites/default/files/inline-images/UChicago%20Medicine%20first%20freestanding%20cancer%20center%20SE_FINAL.jpg)
![UChicago Medicine first freestanding cancer center Rendering courtesy CannonDesign](/sites/default/files/inline-images/UChicago%20Medicine%20first%20freestanding%20cancer%20center%20SITE%20PLAN.png)
![UChicago Medicine first freestanding cancer center Rendering courtesy CannonDesign](/sites/default/files/inline-images/UChicago%20Medicine%20first%20freestanding%20cancer%20center%20SW_FINAL.jpg)
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Nov 4, 2015
Hospital designers get the scoop on the role of innovation in healthcare
“Innovation” was the byword as 175 healthcare designers gathered in Chicago for the American College of Healthcare Architects/AIA Academy of Architecture for Health Summer Leadership Summit.
Healthcare Facilities | Nov 2, 2015
Final funding comes through to complete over-budget and behind-schedule Denver VA Medical Center
The Department of Veterans Affairs, cited for its mismanagement, is stripped of control over future major construction.
Healthcare Facilities | Oct 23, 2015
Mortenson study: Healthcare providers optimistic, but want changes to Affordable Care Act
The 2015 Mortenson Healthcare Industry Study found that 76% of providers are at least optimistic about the future of healthcare, but eight out of 10 would like to see changes made to ACA.
Healthcare Facilities | Sep 29, 2015
The ever changing physician real estate market
In the United States, the environment where outpatient healthcare is being delivered is as dynamic and diverse as the more high profile office and retail markets, writes CBRE Healthcare's Nelson Udstuen.
Healthcare Facilities | Sep 21, 2015
5 reasons healthcare organizations are implementing finish standards on construction projects
The desire for improved patient satisfaction, staff retention, and turn-key maintenance are among the top reasons more healthcare groups are implementing finish standards in their spaces, according to VOA Associates' Lauren Andrysiak.
Healthcare Facilities | Sep 11, 2015
Health Product Declaration Collaborative releases updated HPD Open Standard – Version 2.0
Advances transparent disclosure of building product contents
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 28, 2015
Hospital construction/renovation guidelines promote sound control
The newly revised guidelines from the Facilities Guidelines Institute touch on six factors that affect a hospital’s soundscape.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 28, 2015
7 (more) steps toward a quieter hospital
Every hospital has its own “culture” of loudness and quiet. Jacobs’ Chris Kay offers steps to a therapeutic auditory environment.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 28, 2015
Shhh!!! 6 ways to keep the noise down in new and existing hospitals
There’s a ‘decibel war’ going on in the nation’s hospitals. Progressive Building Teams are leading the charge to give patients quieter healing environments.
Mixed-Use | Aug 26, 2015
Innovation districts + tech clusters: How the ‘open innovation’ era is revitalizing urban cores
In the race for highly coveted tech companies and startups, cities, institutions, and developers are teaming to form innovation hot pockets.