Ceremonial Ground Breaking of New Penn Med Outpatient Facility at Pennsylvania Hospital	Print Issue
November 22, 2011, Volume 58, No. 13

Embarking on one of the largest capital projects in the history of Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Medicine celebrated the official ground breaking late last month of its new Penn Medicine Washington Square (PMWS) facility. The new facility, to be located at 8th and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia’s historic Society Hill section, will house outpatient services for Pennsylvania Hospital (PAH), the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond.

This new facility will help PAH continue its centuries-long tradition of bringing modern medical care to Philadelphia by increasing ease of access for patients to many of its outpatient services. During this time of economic uncertainty this new project will also provide jobs in the construction and related industries as well as supporting jobs in the healthcare industry once the facility opens in 2013.

This new 153,000-square-foot, $22 million facility consolidates Pennsylvania Hospital’s ambulatory and support functions in an ultra-modern, eco-friendly space. Medical practices and hospital departments currently housed in various buildings surrounding the hospital will come together in one location, including departments and divisions such as Orthopaedic Oncology, Foot & Ankle Surgery, Urology, Otorhinolaryngology, Urology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Infectious Diseases, Endocrinology, General Internal Medicine and diagnostic patient services.

This additional building will allow Pennsylvania Hospital to reach its ultimate goal of an all- private room, acute care hospital at its main campus located at 8th and Spruce Streets. Currently the hospital is licensed for 519 beds.

Liberty Property Trust, a well-regarded and trusted company, headquartered in Malvern, whose most recent prominent project was the Comcast Center, was chosen as the developer for PMWS. This is the largest developer project undertaken by Penn’s Health System. Penn Medicine has signed a 20 year lease for the 153,242 square foot building. Liberty’s investment in the project will be $49.6 million and Penn Medicine will invest $22 million in the interior fit-out. The building is scheduled to open late in the summer of 2013.

Shown here at the Penn Medicine Washington Square Ceremonial Groundbreaking from left to right: Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Amy Gutmann, PhD, president, University of Pennsylvania; J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, executive vice president, University of Pennsylvania for the Health System, dean, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; R. Michael Buckley, MD, FACP, Executive Director, PAH; William P. Hankowsky, chair, president and CEO of Liberty Property Trust; Morris Cheston, president, PAH Board of Directors.