UI Children’s Hospital budget increase OK’d

IOWA CITY - State regents on Wednesday approved a budget increase of more than $21 million and some slight design changes for the new University of Iowa Children's Hospital.

The budget increase is mostly due to the addition of two shelled floors, making the planned facility 11 levels above ground. The added costs also include a rooftop terrace and rooftop utilities penthouse and increased procedure and high-technology areas, officials said.

The design change puts the two shelled floors in the middle of the building for greater flexibility and slightly shifts the footprint of the structure on the site to allow for greater natural light inside and better use of the space, officials said.

Construction on the $292 million Children's Hospital is expected to start in October, with completion in early 2016.

The board also approved a $66 million plan to demolish hospital parking ramp No. 2, which will be replaced with an underground parking facility with about 700 spaces in the same location. That change will allow a new visible front entry to UI Hospitals and Clinics with a landscaped plaza entryway and will make arrival simpler for patients and visitors, officials said.

The projects will be funded with hospital revenue bonds, hospital building use funds and gifts designated for the Children's Hospital. Bed capacity with the completion of the new facility will be 195, a 19 percent increase, officials said.