Suburban Hospital to Break Ground in October

BETHESDA, Md. — Suburban Hospital in Bethesda is planning to break ground in late October on a $230 million expansion.

The hospital is planning for a 235,000-square-foot addition and a new parking garage, which will be the first major campus enhancement in 30 years. The major upgrade is expected to be ready for patients by 2020, and the garage is supposed to be open by 2017.

The hospital, a Johns Hopkins Medicine subsidiary, has been fighting neighbors for the expansion for five years, according to the Washington Business Journal. Construction plans call for demolishing nearby houses, which the hospital now owns, and permanently closing a block on an adjacent street. The hospital said closing that block would prevent hospital traffic from cutting through a neighborhood, an issue that a local citizens association was worried about.

The hospital has been collecting letters of interest in the expansion. The hospital has been weighing the decision to simply move to another location, but said on the project website that there aren’t any “suitable plots of land within our service area. In addition, each hospital in Montgomery County is responsible for serving a defined and specific geographic area. A hospital cannot arbitrarily move to another location simply because of space and land issues.”

After years of court battles, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals approved the decision for the addition.

“This is a very important decision for our patients and community,” said David C. Silver, chairman of the Suburban Hospital Board of Trustees, in a statement. “Suburban’s board is very proud of the quality of care the hospital provides, and the campus enhancement project is critical to the hospital’s ability to continue to provide state-of-the-art health care to our community.”

The campus enhancement project includes a new patient-care wing, eliminating the need for a separate building. Additionally, 15 larger operating rooms will be built to today’s health care standards, and the hospital will have better traffic and pedestrian circulation. Additionally, the new parking structure will reduce the amount of surface parking on the site. The hospital will also create separate entrances for emergency vehicles.

“Just as our community has evolved significantly since Suburban Hospital first opened its doors, so too must our hospital if we are to keep up with the ever-changing health care standards and requirements, as well as increasing demand for our services,” said Gene Green, Suburban Hospital’s president, in a statement. “That’s why we are proud and excited to have worked with our neighbors and interested parties from the greater community to develop a plan that will expand and enhance our facilities.”