Hennepin Healthcare, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit system that operates Hennepin County Medical Center and other county clinics, is moving forward with the next phase of its 10-year, $2.5 billion upgrade to HCMC, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported Feb. 9.
Hennepin County and hospital leaders are seeking upgrades that include a new inpatient tower, mental health facility and parking ramp, according to the report. The county owns the hospital facilities. Hennepin Healthcare employs some 7,500 workers.
Hennepin Healthcare CEO Jennifer DeCubellis said in a statement shared with the Star Tribune that the goal of the renovations is to better align the county's "social services and health system care to respond to the needs we are seeing across our community."
Hennepin County's board approved a $1.7 million contract with international architecture firm CannonDesign in January to work on the plans, according to the outlet.
To fund healthcare improvements, the county repurposed a 0.15% sales tax initially used to fund the construction of Target Field, the Minneapolis stadium where the Minnesota Twins play. The sales tax has been collected since 2007, the year Hennepin Healthcare was created by the county and state lawmakers, and raises more than $50 million each year. It is slated to expire by 2030.
"As we got closer to paying off the general obligation bonds, we realized that there were opportunities to repurpose those sales tax monies," Hennepin County Administrator David Hough told Becker's in 2024.
The proposal, which is before the state Legislature, aims to use about $40 million a year from the sales tax to support healthcare infrastructure costs.
Hennepin Healthcare opened a new 322,000-square-foot clinic and specialty center in 2018 in the first phase of its 10-year overhaul plan.
Additionally, as part of the overhaul, Hennepin Healthcare is planning a replacement parking ramp to be completed in 2027, the Star Tribune reported. It also expects to finalize plans later in 2025 for a new behavioral health facility and begin construction of a 450-bed inpatient tower expected to be completed by 2028.