Allina selects site for $150 million replacement hospital in Cambridge, Minn.

Allina Health is planning new medical facilities on the north and south ends of the Twin Cities metro as part of a continued push to provide more health care services outside hospitals.

In the south metro, Allina is building a specialty center in Lakeville with offerings that will range from orthopedics and oncology to cardiology and same-day surgery.

To the north in Cambridge, Minn., the Minneapolis-based health system announced last month the location for a new $150 million replacement hospital.

Situated about 2 miles from Allina's existing medical center in Isanti County, the new Cambridge hospital will include fewer beds and a greater focus on outpatient services, said chief financial officer Ric Magnuson.

"Lakeville is not just a primary care and specialty care, it's bringing things together in a unique way," Magnuson said. "We're going to be rebuilding our Cambridge facility, but it's not just rebuilding what was there — it's coming in a very different model."

The new hospital will be located between Hwy. 65 and Xylite Street NE. in Cambridge, just north of Hwy. 95. The construction project also includes a new clinic, Allina said in a May filing with bondholders.

The new Cambridge facility is expected to open in 2025. Kraus-Anderson has been selected as the general contractor, while St. Paul-based BWBR Architects will handle designs.

All services will remain operational at the existing campus until the new medical center opens, Allina said. Cambridge Medical Center was built in the 1950s with expansions in the 1960s, '70s and '90s.

"A recent assessment of the facility revealed areas of significant need for upgrades and improvements," Allina said in a statement.

In Lakeville, the new specialty center is expected to open in 2023. Allina opened an urgent care center in Savage in March and is expanding services at a clinic in Apple Valley.

"In total, these investments will add more than 100,000 square feet of new health care real estate to the [south metro] area," Allina said in a bondholder filing.

In February, Allina announced plans for a new 10-story patient tower at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. The health system owns 10 hospitals and employs about 27,500 full- and part-time workers.