Turner Construction’s Memphis office recently celebrated the topping out of the $275 million, 450,000-square-foot patient tower at Methodist University Hospital (MUH). The topping out signifies that construction of the steel portion of the building has reached its tallest point. Construction of the tower, which will be named in honor of former longtime Methodist CEO Gary Shorb, is officially halfway complete. 

Work began on the project last year and is slated for completion in the spring of 2019. Turner/Memphis is serving as the general contractor. Memphis firms Self+Tucker Architects and archimania have significant design roles under the lead firm, Dallas-based HKS, Inc. The project’s structural and civil engineer is Memphis-based Allen & Hoshall.

"This project is elevating the midtown Memphis community by creating a better environment for health care," said Kyle Reaves, Turner project executive for the Methodist tower. "We are extremely grateful to be a part of this magnificent project. It’s incredibly meaningful to support a family-care-centered, faith-based health care ministry that will improve lives for generations to come."

The new patient tower is part of the hospital’s campus expansion project, which also includes a 700-space parking plaza that Turner completed earlier this year. The tower will allow for the consolidation of the hospital’s transplant services into a two-floor inpatient/outpatient comprehensive transplant institute. It will also connect the oncology and outpatient care to create a new cancer center. The expansion allows for a 36 percent increase in ICU capacity and a 20 percent increase in the hospital’s operating room capacity. 

The eight-story tower is being constructed on top of the existing emergency department, which Turner, a member of multiple AGC chapters, built in 2014.

"Having worked on multiple projects with Turner, we value them as a trusted partner with deep health care experience. So it was a natural choice for us to select them to build our new tower at Methodist University Hospital," said Richard Kelley, vice president, Corporate Facilities Management for Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. "Additionally, Turner uses the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) method of construction management, which allows each member our leadership team – along with other members of the project team, including contractors and designers – to collaborate throughout the building process. The IPD method paired with the use of 3-D modeling and target-value design helps us to save project time and resources, and ensures that creative design and construction methods are considered from day one."

The Integrated Project Delivery approach ensures that all major parties maximize efficiency through all phases of the project. Ultimately, it guarantees that the builder and designer are focused on adding value, building the project with higher quality, lower risk and at a faster speed.

"The success of the project is about collaboration with everyone involved, and we are very pleased to be a part of the MUH team and project," said Norman Morgan, principal, South Central Health Group Practice Leader for HKS. "We pride ourselves in making each project about the patients and the community the hospital serves. Our designs are not preconceived. We listen and innovate to the needs and provide a plan and design that maximizes the value of our clients’ faculty assets, raises patient and staff satisfaction and helps improve patient outcomes. The success of the project is about collaboration with everyone involved and we are very pleased to be a part of the MUH team and project."

The new facility will be one of the most advanced patient- and family-centered state-of-the-art tertiary care facilities in the Mid-South region.