Texas Medical Center Forges Forward on Big Expansion
By HCO Staff
SAN ANGELO, Texas—Hoar Construction announced recently the expansion of the west bed tower at Shannon Medical Center in San Angelo, Texas, a key component of a broader, multi-million-dollar capital improvement program that is helping to modernize and expand healthcare services for the residents of San Angelo and surrounding communities. The project recently broke ground and is expected to be completed in Summer 2024. Construction of the bed tower marks the first time a tower crane has been used for a project within San Angelo’s city limits.
The seven-story, bed tower is an expansion of the existing 1,536,000-square-foot hospital located on East Harris Avenue in downtown San Angelo. Construction consists of three floors of concrete parking garage underneath four floors of patient care space. On the third floor will be an 19,310-square-foot Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the fourth floor will be patient rooms and the fifth and sixth floors will have shell spaces to be built out in the future.
“This project will further enhance the healthcare offerings in San Angelo and elevate Shannon Medical Center’s ability to provide top-quality care and services to a much larger pool of local patients,” said Bradley Barr, senior superintendent at Hoar. “The hospital is at 100% capacity for the majority of the year, which necessitates detailed planning and coordination to ensure that daily operations which are vital to patient care are not impaired in any way. Hoar’s proven track record and expertise in managing major hospital expansions and renovations, along with our strong local ties and understanding of the community, will ensure we deliver a facility of the highest quality for the patients and staff of SMC.”
Approximately 8,609 cubic yards of concrete will be used for the project, along with 790 tons of rebar.
The project will also incorporate elements of modular construction, with 40 bathrooms being assembled in an off-site warehouse in New Braunfels. Once complete, the bathroom pods will be shipped directly to the job site for easy installation, saving the project a significant amount of time.
The 168-foot-high crane first appeared on site early January and will continue to aid in construction until the concrete structure is completed.
“As a native of San Angelo, it’s been personally rewarding to play a part in the continued expansion of Shannon Medical Center,” said Garrett Wheat, project manager at Hoar. “There’s been a lot of excitement and anticipation around town about the crane, which will add a compelling feature to our skyline. Hoar is proud to invest our resources in this community and will continue to take an active role in building facilities that will add value and make a lasting impact for the generations to come.”
In February 2020, after more than 20 unique phases of construction, Hoar completed the east bed tower expansion and renovation project at Shannon Medical Center, which also spanned 7 stories and included an 8,000-square-foot ICU and 26,000 square feet of interior renovations. In both projects, strategic techniques were used in the initial planning stages to maximize efficiency, cut costs and ensure patient and staff safety throughout construction.
Additional project partners include O’Connell Robertson as the architect and MEP engineer and Datum Engineers as the structural engineer.
Hoar Construction has established itself as one of America’s leading healthcare builders, completing over $335 million in healthcare projects over the past 10 years. Within Texas, Hoar has also served as the general contractor on a 72-bed pediatric hospital expansion associated with the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas; the new 170,000 square-foot Uvalde Memorial Hospital in Uvalde, Texas; and the six-story patient tower and 35,000 square feet of renovations for Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene, Texas. They’ve also built rehabilitation hospitals at Shannon Medical Center and in Lubbock, Texas, and Hobbs, New Mexico, and have completed a previous expansion to Abilene Regional Medical Center.
Tower Crane FAQ:
This tower crane is 150-feet-tall to allow the 250-foot-long jib to safely swing over nearby buildings, and whistles are used as signals to notify workers and those nearby that a load is being carried overhead. Special fencing is in place to allow for deliveries to the crane and keep pedestrians safely out of the way. Once work with the crane is done for the day, it is put in “weather vane” mode, which is an additional safety measure to ensure excessive wind loads are not imposed on the vertical column.