Construction Zone

California

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors awarded a $165 million contract for the design and construction of a new inpatient facility for the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center. The contract includes the renovation of about 194,000 square feet of an existing six-story tower and a new 25,000-square-foot building for a cafeteria and offices. The contract was awarded to Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Colorado

A new 184-bed medical center will replace the Veteran Administration's Denver Medical Center for the Eastern Colorado Health Care System and will be constructed at the Fitzsimons campus in Aurora, Colo. It will include a 30-bed spinal cord injury/disease center, a 30-bed community living center and a research building. The new medical center is scheduled for completion in February 2014.

Kansas

Overland Park Regional Medical Center will start work on a $121 million expansion this year. The 215,291-square-foot project will include a 72-bed tower for medical and surgical acute care, critical care and orthopedic, neuroscience and trauma pa­tients. All rooms will become private, so capacity will remain at 343 beds. The hospital is operated by HCA Midwest Health System.

Washington

Seattle Children's Hospital celebrated the first construction phase of the hospital's expansion plan to move from a 254-bed facility to a 500- to 600-bed facility by 2030. The project will add 330,000 square feet and 60 to 80 additional inpatient beds for cancer and critical care patients. Building Hope, the first phase of the expansion, is scheduled for completion in 2013.