ARLINGTON — The rough economic climate has had some unexpected positive consequences for Cascade Valley Hospital.
“The expansion and remodeling projects are going very well,” the hospital’s top administrator Clark Jones said. “Costs are coming in under estimate, allowing us to do a little more. We’re underbudget.”
The $45 million construction project adds a new 40,000-square-foot, two-story building and remodels another 40,000 square feet in the current hospital, which was built in 1987. The cost also includes demolition of the hospital’s 1950s-era building.
The exterior walls and roof on the addition should be completed soon, allowing construction crews to move inside, Jones said.
The new building is set to house the new emergency department, expanding the hospital’s emergency room stations from six to 16. It also gives the hospital a new imaging department, pharmacy, cafeteria and dietary department. Because costs have come down, a new outpatient chemotherapy department and conference rooms have been added to the project, Jones said.
Administrative offices now housed in the 1950s building will move to the first floor of the current building. Several more inpatient beds are scheduled to be added there. When the oldest building comes down, more parking will be added.
Construction on the expansion project began in June and is expected to be done by January 2010, Jones said.
Tours and an open house will be scheduled near the completion date, he said.
“This is a very exciting project for the hospital and the city,” Jones said. “Now that it’s taking shape, everybody is talking about it.”
The Cascade Valley Hospital district serves north Snohomish County, from Stanwood to Darrington. Voters approved the expansion project in May 2007.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427, gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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