Building Plan for Childrens Hospital Told

Childrens Hospital of Orange County on Friday announced plans for a $50-million expansion--nearly doubling its size--which will include a new six-story building, razing an existing building and adding a research facility.

The new facility would be completed in four years if officials are able to raise the needed money and get approvals from city and state agencies, said Maureen Hughes, the hospital’s public relations director.

“We’re very crowded right now in a lot of areas,” Hughes said. “This will enable us to have a modern facility. We want something that can handle new advances in technology and new treatments.”

The six-story building would be constructed directly behind the existing five-story west building of the hospital, referred to as the tower. The west building would be razed and replaced by a one-story entryway for the new main building, Hughes said. A research building would be constructed nextto the hospital on Main Street and La Veta Avenue.

The new building would have about 165 beds and be able to expand to the 202 beds for which the hospital is licensed. The tower is at capacity with 159 beds. The additional space would also permit the hospital to have private rooms and more space for support departments such as respiratory therapy, she said.

The hospital would move its cancer and diabetes research to the new research facility. They are now housed in the basement of the tower.

Preliminary plans for the 150,000-square-foot project, to replace the 87,000-square-foot tower, were presented to the city Wednesday. Architectural drawings are expected to be completed in six months, and at that time the plans will go before the City of Orange Planning Commission for approval, Hughes said.

No Room to Grow

“Right now we don’t have room to grow,” Hughes said.

Hospital officials originally planned to renovate the tower, which was a senior citizens apartment complex before it was sold to the hospital in the early 1970s, she said. The hospital began plans for renovation last year, but early architectural studies showed that the floor-to-ceiling height in the tower was not adequate to accommodate the electrical and mechanical systems required by the state.

Officials don’t expect to move into the new complex for four years, Hughes said. Architectural drawings must be approved by the hospital board, the city and the state before construction can start, she said. She expects that they will break ground in a year and a half.

Hughes said money for the project is to be raised from charitable contributions and estate planning gifts.