Building Boom

If Nashville had a city bird, it would be a crane ... no, not the long-necked, long-legged avian but the soaring steel tower cranes that seem to dot the sky in every direction.

While lot of new hotels, condos and apartments are popping up throughout the city, the healthcare industry is responsible for a good number of those steel birds. This list is by no means comprehensive but is, instead, a small sampling of the recent building boom.

Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital

Construction is underway at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt on a four-floor expansion that will advance the size and scope of the hospital's comprehensive array of specialty and subspecialty pediatric healthcare programs.

Once fully completed, the four new floors will add 160,000 square feet of additional space, bringing the hospital's total footprint to ore than 1 million square feet. The first two floors to be completed will provide approximately 80,000 square feet of new patient care space and will include 76 critical and acute care beds for newborns and pediatric patients. The new space will also include family areas, a playroom, a large waiting room, educational space and patient consultation rooms.

Construction, which got underway last fall, is expected to take 30 months to complete. The hospital surpassed its fundraising goal of $40 million to support the expansion through the Growing to New Heights Campaign.

TriStar/MRH Joint Venture

Maury Regional Health and TriStar Health received CON approval at the Feb. 22 meeting of the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency meeting to develop a joint venture behavioral health hospital in Columbia.

The inpatient facility will add 60 behavioral health beds for adult and adolescent patients and will be located on North James Campbell Boulevard. It is estimated that the $24.4 million investment for Maury County will employ approximately 100 caregivers and support staff. Pending design and construction, officials hope the facility will open in 2018.

The unique collaboration across two healthcare systems is anticipated to help address a gap in services for the county. "Every day, patients who would benefit from behavioral health services visit emergency departments and physician offices throughout the region. Because of the current shortage of available services, these patients may experience delays in treatment or travel long distances for their care. With the approval of this new behavioral health facility in Columbia, patients will soon have greater access to the care they need on their journey to recovery," said MRH CEO Alan Watson.

HCA's 1100 Charlotte Building

At the end of 2016, HCA cut the ribbon on their new 1100 Charlotte building at Capitol View. Located in the North Gulch, the new 17-story facility provides office space for employees of HCA subsidiaries HealthTrust, Parallon and Sarah Cannon.

The $200 million structure has a total of 560,000 square feet with more than 400,000 square feet designated for office space and another 30,000 square feet allocated for retail space. Additionally, the building features a full-service café, fitness center, and modern conference rooms.

HCA made a commitment to diversity in the construction process. The company exceeded their goal of 20 percent contracting, with nearly one-third of the project components going to minority- and women-owned businesses. The Capitol View building is the first phase of a mixed-used project.

LBMC Celebrates New Office

In January, large regional accounting firm LBMC celebrated the move to their new office space at the corner of Franklin Road and Maryland Way in Brentwood. The company is leasing 80,000 square feet in the new Hill Center Brentwood.

Incorporating sleek, modern design, the new office includes amenities like standing desks for employees, private Mother's Rooms for new mom returning to work, 'phone booth' rooms where employees can hold private phone conversations, and 38 'collaboration rooms' (rather than conference rooms) that feature original art and high-tech equipment to connect with clients across the country.

"Our building was designed with our entire family of companies and all of our team members in mind," said COO John Litchfield. "From the offices all being the same size to everyone having the same chair to the majority of the offices being off the glass to allow for everyone to enjoy a view of outside, we hope we have created an environment that allows folks to do their best every day in a relaxed effective work space."

Saint Thomas Additions

Saint Thomas Medical Partners recently opened a full-service care center in Murfreesboro. Saint Thomas Health - New Salem offers primary care, outpatient rehabilitation, on-site lab testing, Premier Radiology imaging services, and ExpressCare all under one roof.

"Our new care centers tailor to the needs of each community," said Fahad Tahir, president and CEO of Saint Thomas Medical Partners. "We researched and identified the services that are in high demand, but difficult to access in these communities, and put all of these services in one place to simplify our patients' overall care experience."

A similar center is currently under construction in Bellevue at Old Harding and Temple Road by Mt. Juliet-based developer Commercial Realty Services. Anticipated to be finished by late 2017, Saint Thomas Medical Partners will lease the more than 22,000-square-foot building and will feature specialty care, imaging, radiology, physical therapy and occupational therapy, among other services.

In addition, Saint Thomas Health is building a comprehensive oncology center currently under construction at 2004 Hayes St.