Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott of Boston, MA, one of the country's top pediatric healthcare architects, has been selected for the physician-led plan to construct a new Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC). The building is expected to be up to 10-stories tall and 400,000 sq.ft. It will be located on approximately 2.3 acres of the approximately 3.7 acre block surrounded by Ellicott, High, Main, and Goodrich streets. The remainder of the block will be used for the Medical Office Building ("MOB") previously proposed by Ciminelli Development.
"After considering several of the most respected and experienced architect firms in the U.S., Shepley Bulfinch was selected for their expertise in designing clinically complex facilities that emphasize patient and family-centered care with operational efficiency as well as distinctive architectural forms for many other children's and women's hospitals," said Teresa Quattrin, M.D., Pediatrician-in-Chief, Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo, and Professor of Pediatrics, Chair, Department of Pediatrics, University of New York at Buffalo.
With more than a century of healthcare experience, Shepley Bulfinch is a national design leader in award-winning design for some of the country's best children's hospitals. The firm's relationship with Children's Hospital Boston began in 1914, and includes the award-winning Berthiaume Family South Building. The pediatric specialty center nearing completion at Children's Hospital of Michigan is expected to have a transformative impact in fostering a culture of wellness for the children of Detroit. The 2009 patient tower for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, home to the regionally acclaimed Herma Heart Center, is also a distinctive and prominent Milwaukee landmark.
"Shepley Bulfinch's approach to our project at Women & Children's Hospital demonstrates their understanding that collaboration and participation are essential to its success," said Kevin Fitzpatrick, M.D., Chief of Service, OB/GYN, Kaleida Health. "Their participatory process emphasizes collaboration with complete care teams. These teams include patients, families, doctors, clinicians, administrators, staff and others. Such a comprehensive approach is required to create an exceptional facility for the women and children of Western New York."
Shepley Bulfinch is ranked in the top 30 healthcare design firms by Modern Healthcare and among the country's top 100 Green Design Firms by Engineering News-Record.
"We are so pleased to be working with Women and Children's Hospital," said Uma Ramanathan, AIA, Shepley Bulfinch's principal for the project. "With this project, we will be helping transform the delivery of pediatric healthcare for future generations of children in Buffalo."
The current location of Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo provides world class care, as evidenced by the hospital's recent rankings in U.S. News and World Report's Best Children's Hospitals list. But the facility is landlocked by its residential neighborhood, and its 120 year infrastructure is past its efficient effective age.
Coupling those factors with the emerging growth of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and the planned relocation of the University at Buffalo Medical School resulted in the Physician Strategic Planning Committee (PSPC) identifying the preferred location of the future hospital at the new Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus site, less than two miles away.
Ciminelli Real Estate (the developer) is also proposing to build approximately 300,000 sq. feet of environmentally friendly medical office space (including underground parking), 85,000 sq. feet of which will be Women & Children's Hospital space and the ambulatory care center. The ambulatory care center will serve children and adults.
Entry Image: Smilow Cancer Hospital, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Any ideas on the actual reuse of the Bryant street location? Either make Kaleida Demolish it for potential new residential builds or have an idea in place?
It is sad that without two really good plans- there could be 2 large empty hospitals sitting within a a mile of eachother in the Elmwood village area...I have zero real data but I have to imagine this will have a huge impact on the commercial business along Elmwood - Once again its just shifting one business in buffalo to another area....
They are planning to re-use the old building. I heard that the very tolerant and progressive residents of Oakland Place are supporting low-income housing and an out-patient substance abuse clinic.
Ha, you never know
Hospitals, like some churches, can be difficult to adapt to a new use. They may appear to be natural candidates for apartment buildings, but the challenges of shallow depth of rooms from a central hallway, along with operating rooms and labs on lower floors, are difficult to overcome. Redevelopment as a hotel might also seem like a good fit, but single occupancy patient rooms will usually be much smaller than modern hotel rooms, and double occupancy rooms will be a very tight fit.
Most projects I've seen involve reuse as assisted living or skilled nursing facilities.
I am just saying that I think it should be mandated that they have an idea for at least one of the buildings that they are leaving...These 2 behemoths of buildings may sit empty for years to come...I dont think 1 million dollar seed money from Kaleida will tempt anyone on the Gates building. In the same sense childrens may be harder to redevelope because its cramped in between alot of residential....Someone should step up here..
I don't think it's just shifting one business to another place.
Childrens hospital will strengthen the value of the Medical Campus and UB medical school, in ways that are not possible in its current location.
This is a big difference and creates new opportunities for economic development at both sites.
Also, building a hundred new units of housing at the Bryant Street area will have an impact on Elmwood and the city much more than the hospital did. Think about spending power and taxes, for starters.
This "shifting" can have greater benefits than the existing if it is done right.