McCarthy breaks ground on $52M Missouri hospital expansion

Award: Saint Luke’s East Ambulatory Surgery Center expansion and renovation
Value: $52 million
Location: Lee’s Summit, Missouri
Client: Saint Luke’s Health System

McCarthy Building Cos. has broken ground on the $52 million, 113,913-square-foot expansion and renovation of Saint Luke’s East Ambulatory Surgery Center in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, the company announced on April 18.

Work includes both the renovation of the existing two-story, 52,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center and clinical space, as well as the construction of a new 62,000-square-foot third floor addition above the existing facility, according to a press release sent to Construction Dive.

The project will be delivered through a Construction Manager At Risk format, which is used by owners to ensure firm pricing and alignment of scope and budget on projects. It also helps speed up bid packages for procurement to mitigate ongoing supply chain and cost escalation risks.

The project will create additional space at the facility, first built in 2006, needed to enable off-site medical-related services to move back onto the main East campus, according to the release.

Located in a separate building, the ambulatory surgery center and clinical space is connected to the three-story hospital. Both facilities will continue serving patients and visitors throughout construction.

McCarthy said that will pose unique hurdles.

“While the surgery center and clinical space originally had been designed to accommodate a vertical expansion, it is always challenging to build above an existing structure, especially when that expansion is built above a surgery center that continues to operate without disrupting patient care,” said Seth Kelso, market leader for McCarthy in Kansas City.

The win comes on the heels of a $535 million award to build a solar farm that will help power Chicago. The two wins follow the postponement of the Las Vegas Dream Resort, a project worth approximately $550 million, for which McCarthy was the lead contractor. McCarthy filed a lien notice on March 10, claiming that almost $40.2 million for performed work has not yet been paid.