AKRON, Ohio — CBRE Healthcare and Akron Children’s Hospital celebrated the topping out of the new 368,735-square-foot, seven-story medical tower on April 2. Despite challenges imposed by this year’s winter weather, the project is ahead of schedule.
“The celebration today is a testament to the excellent job of the project team in delivering a top-notch facility ahead of schedule. For a project in Northeast Ohio to be able to say we made it through this past winter two weeks ahead of schedule and still beat cost targets is a testament to the process and team we have in place. It was a great day to celebrate the team in the field and their accomplishments,” stated Stephen Powell, consultant, CBRE Healthcare.
The $200-million campus transformation initiative is being delivered using a non-traditional approach for the design and construction of the new medical tower. Integrated Project Delivery allows the people who are going to use the building – patients and staff – to help design it. This approach brings everyone involved in the project together to seek input before anything is actually designed. In addition, all contractors are hired at the start of the project and collaboratively work through all aspects of the project as a united team. The benefit of this model was never more apparent than this winter. According to Powell, “We have had 72 significant weather days, when we only planned for 55. Yet, we are still two weeks ahead of schedule, a six-week swing from what we had originally planned for on paper.” For each day that the project is completed early, the hospital saves about $7,500.
“It is so great to see the building take shape on our campus after all the months we spent planning it,” said Grace Wakulchik, chief operating officer at Akron Children’s Hospital. “Everything about the building is so well thought out and it is all about providing the best care to our patients and their families.”
The new tower will be connected to the existing hospital and is expected to open in February 2015, two months ahead of the original schedule. CBRE Healthcare is engaged as the onsite project manager. To learn more about the project or about IPD, visit Akron Children’s Hospital. To view video from the ceremony, visit Akron Topping Out.
Project Team
Owner – Akron Children’s Hospital
Architects – HKS & Hasenstab
Construction Managers – Welty/Boldt
Civil Engineer– Environmental Design Group
Mechanical Electrical Plumbing – CCRD & BWK
Medical Equipment – Mitchell
Project Manager – CBRE Healthcare
Structural Engineer – Thorson Baker
Technology – Dynamix Engineering
