$2.5 billion in updates planned for HCMC that will overhaul part of downtown Minneapolis

HCMC is entering the next phase of a decadeslong renovation, and the results will update part of downtown Minneapolis that has been the safety-net hospital’s home for more than a century.

By the time the renovations are complete, Hennepin County leaders expect to have spent as much as $2.5 billion on a new inpatient building, mental health facility and other upgrades. The overhaul will eventually consolidate the footprint of the hospital, which now occupies about eight city blocks and 3.3 million square feet.

Hennepin Healthcare System, a nonprofit created by the county and the Legislature in 2007, operates HCMC and other county clinics. The county still owns all the hospital facilities and the entities partner on improvement projects, but taxpayers are ultimately responsible for repaying any construction debt.

Jennifer DeCubellis, Hennepin Healthcare CEO, said in a statement the renovations will improve access and care for patients because they better align the county’s “social services and health system care to respond to the needs we are seeing across our community.”

Last month, the County Board unanimously approved a $1.7 million contract with CannonDesign, an international architecture firm based in Buffalo N.Y., to flesh out the 10-year plan for the hospital campus. Cannon has worked on hospital plans across the U.S., including in Parkland, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio.

“I’m very excited for this,” Board Chair Irene Fernando said, noting that she would like a quicker construction timeline, if possible. “I’m eager to ensure our residents are receiving state-of-the-art facilities and care that they and we deserve.”

Now county leaders need to find a way to help pay for the overhaul and are looking to state leaders for help. County officials note HCMC serves the entire state as its largest safety-net hospital and teaching facility with a burn unit, hyperbaric medicine and other specialty care.

The top priority for the County Board’s lobbying team at the Capitol is to win lawmakers’ approval of converting the ballpark tax that funded the construction of Target Field into an ongoing revenue stream for health care needs.

“I really want to make sure we are extremely cautious about what we can and can’t afford,” Commissioner Kevin Anderson said. “Supporting our hospital system is a necessity. We can’t do it alone.”

The first phase of the HCMC overhaul was completed in 2018 when the 337,000-square-foot Hennepin Healthcare Clinic & Specialty Center opened in 2018 on S. Eighth Street. The $224 million project consolidated 40 clinics previously spread across nine buildings and five city blocks into one facility across the street from the hospital’s emergency room.

In 2019, the county paid $8 million for a parking ramp and Parkside Professional Building next door to the specialty center that will be razed to make room for a new inpatient hospital tower.

A replacement parking ramp is planned for property just south of the existing ramp. The $120 million structure will have 1,000 spaces and be completed in 2027.

Later this year, county and hospital officials will finalize plans for a new behavioral health facility that will be built on the corner of Portland Avenue and S. Sixth Street adjacent to the Purple Parking Ramp.

In 2027, the Parkside building and parking ramp will be demolished, and construction of a 450-bed inpatient tower is expected to begin by 2028. Current estimates put the cost of each new hospital room between $2 million and $4 million bringing the cost of the new inpatient facility to nearly $2 billion.

Construction is expected to be completed by 2034. The existing Orange, Green and Shapiro buildings at HCMC will be decommissioned and their future use has not been determined.

County leaders hope the Legislature will approve their proposal to continue and repurpose the 0.15% sales tax that pays for the $355 million Hennepin County borrowed to build Target Field. The debt is expected to be paid off this year and the tax will sunset if the Legislature does nothing.

The tax amounts to about 3 cents on a $20 purchase and raises about $54 million a year. The county’s pitch dedicates about $40 million to health care needs that would be split between HCMC and North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale.

About $10 million annually would go toward future renovations at Target Field. The remaining $4 million will continue to fund extended library hours and grants for youth activities.

If the tax change is approved it would generate about $500 million over the next 25 years to fund some of the planned construction. Without sales tax revenue, the cost would need to be paid for by the hospital and property taxes.