The Daily Dig
Indiana University Health is building a new $2.3 billion Academic Adult Hospital in downtown Indianapolis that will consolidate Methodist and University hospitals onto a single campus. The project covers more than 2.5 million square feet across 44 acres and is currently one of the largest healthcare construction projects underway in the United States.
The three-tower facility will include 864 licensed private inpatient rooms, each around 300 square feet and built to a standardized same layout. Along with 50 operating rooms, 380 outpatient exam rooms, two helipads, pedestrian bridges to nearby medical buildings, below-grade tunnel connections to support facilities and a central utility plant, and an automated guided vehicle system. The hospital is scheduled to open in Q4 2027 and is expected to generate roughly $50 million in annual operating savings once consolidation is complete.
Project Snapshot:
Owner / Developer: Indiana University Health
Construction Manager: Wilhelm | Gilbane (Joint Venture)
Architect / Engineer of Record: CURIS Design (BSA, CSO, RATIO Joint Venture)
Lead Engineer: WSP
Engineering Partners: IMEG; KAI Engineering
Low Voltage System Designer: CMTA
Medical Equipment Planner: Cripe / Introba
Structural Engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA)
Sector: Academic Adult Acute Care Hospital
Value: $2.31 billion (hospital construction); $4.3 billion total campus investment
Location: Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana
Scope: 2.5M+ SF campus; 864 licensed private 300 SF patient rooms; 50 ORs; 380 outpatient exam rooms; 2 helipads; campus bridges; below-grade tunnel system; automated guided vehicle system
Timeline / Status: Under construction; building enclosed as of late 2025; interior fit-out and systems integration underway; on schedule for Q4 2027 opening
TheJobWalk Thoughts
Don't let the floor count fool you, this is not a standard vertical build. Three towers, a tunnel system, campus bridges, an AGV network, and 50 ORs all running through a single consolidated program means the real complexity lives inside the walls. With the exterior enclosed and the job now deep into interior fit-out and systems integration, the pressure shifts squarely onto sequencing, coordination, and inspection cycles- the part of a healthcare project where schedules either hold or quietly fall apart. With $50 million in projected annual savings tied directly to hitting that Q4 2027 open date, owner pressure will flow downstream fast. Trade contractors and suppliers who already understand healthcare compliance, medical equipment coordination, and hospital grade MEP integration won't have to prove themselves here, they'll just have to execute. The ones planning to learn healthcare on this job will find the tuition steep.
