Children’s Hospital Opens New Tower

"One more welcome addition to the landscape of the Phillips neighborhood." The expansion is the latest major investment by a Phillips Partnership member.

December 2004—A new addition has changed the look of the Children’s Hospital in the Phillips neighborhood. Opened in summer 2004, the “Tower” features four floors built on top of the south wing of the existing hospital building, adding more than 42,000 square feet of space, including a renovation of the existing second floor. The project has also added approximately 220 spaces to the existing public parking ramp adjacent to the hospital.

“The expansion signifies our commitment on three fronts—to families who bring their children to us, to the professionals who help meet their health care needs, and to the Phillips community, our community” says Alan L. Goldbloom, MD, president and CEO of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics. “We also like to think of the Tower as one more welcome addition to the landscape of the Phillips neighborhood and symbolic of our commitment to the success of the Phillips Partnership,” said Goldbloom.

Built for outpatient surgery and clinic patients, the Tower greatly expands Children’s services for families. A check-in area is located on the renovated second floor, and two new 400-square-foot operating rooms are located on the third floor. The fourth floor houses specialty clinics and the fifth floor contains Children’s general pediatrics clinic. The signature elevator gives the Tower its name, running the height of the expansion.

The $15 million Tower will add at least 50 new positions to Children’s Hospital’s staff, said Goldbloom. This is the latest in a series of major investments in the neighborhood by members of the Phillips Partnership. Next door, Abbott Northwestern Hospital has added $170 million in facilities in the past five years and has more than tripled (to 900) the number of employees who reside in south Minneapolis. Wells Fargo recently completed $175 million in expansions and improvements to its campus, producing 4,300 new jobs.