Western suburban families who drive to Chicago for their children's hospital care are a step closer to having a pediatric facility in their own backyard.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago has filed a Certificate of Need with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board for a $480 million inpatient hospital at the Esplanade development at Woodcreek and Lacey Road in Downers Grove. The state board declared the application complete on Thursday, June 12.
The proposed facility would include 48 medical/surgical beds, six operating rooms, and a 35-station emergency department, according to the board's official notice. Patch reported the building would span approximately 298,000 square feet. Services would cover emergency care, intensive care, surgery, imaging, and pediatric specialties including oncology, cardiology, gastroenterology, and orthopedics.
It would be Lurie Children's first inpatient hospital outside its flagship Streeterville campus in downtown Chicago, according to the hospital.
Why it matters locally
About 47% of children in Chicago's western suburbs must leave their communities for inpatient pediatric care, according to hospital officials cited in a January Engineering News-Record report.
For families like the Sochas, who live in the western suburbs, the distance has been a burden. Bonnie Socha's children Gabe and Gwen, treated for a rare genetic disease since birth, travel more than 100 miles every other week for life-saving infusions at Lurie Children's downtown location.
"Having a Lurie Children's closer to home means fewer long days on the road, less strain on our kids' bodies, and more time being a family instead of traveling for care," Bonnie Socha said in a Lurie Children's announcement in January.
Downers Grove Mayor Bob Barnett called the project "a significant and needed investment in local health infrastructure and pediatric health" when the hospital announced its plans in January.
What happens next
The state board has tentatively scheduled its review for November 5. A staff report will be posted online October 22. Residents who want to weigh in must submit written comments by October 16.
Under Illinois law, hospitals must demonstrate community need and financial feasibility before the state can approve a new inpatient facility.
The design-build team is led by Clayco, with Chicago-based Skender as contractor, ZGF as architect, and LJC Design & Engineering handling engineering work. The total project cost listed in the state filing is $480,102,903.
No construction start date or projected opening year has been announced.
Upcoming community events
- Thursday, July 9 — Tony P's West Suburban Networking Event, 6 p.m., Goldfinger Brewing, 513 Rogers St., Downers Grove
- Saturday, July 11 — 20th Annual Downers Grove Garden Walk, 9:30 a.m., various locations
- Sunday, July 12 — Downtown Downers Grove Farmers Market, Main Street train station lot
- Tuesday, July 21 — Senior Suburban Orchestra Free Summer Sight-Reading Sessions, 1 p.m., Woodridge United Methodist Church, 2700 75th St., Woodridge
- Monday, July 27 — After Hours Film Society presents Hekla, 7:30 p.m., Classic Cinemas Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove
