Medical Center’s north campus first to see change as part of Campus Renewal Project​

In the next decade, the Washington University Medical Center campus will be transformed by renovations and new construction as part of the Campus Renewal Project.

Currently, designers, planners and medical center leaders are working on ideas expected to bring significant change to the Barnes-Jewish Hospital north campus and to St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Washington University Medical Center includes Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, BJC HealthCare and the School of Medicine.

“The Campus Renewal Project will move the School of Medicine and its teaching hospitals to the next level of clinical and academic excellence by enhancing our ability to provide the most advanced multi-disciplinary, patient-centered care to the residents of our community and beyond,” says James P. Crane, MD, associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs.

The first phase of the Campus Renewal Project includes an expansion of St. Louis Children’s, as well as expansion of women and infants’ services, Siteman Cancer Center, surgical programs and diagnostics. It also calls for new space for university faculty practice offices and clinics, as well as community physician practices, parking and additional green space.

To make room for the additions, the former Jewish College of Nursing building and the Kingshighway, Yalem and Steinberg buildings are slated to come down this fall. The City of St. Louis’ Preservation Board is expected to review requests to demolish the buildings in a board meeting Monday, March 25.

During the concept design process, medical center leaders, clinicians and other employees have been helping designers understand how medical services and facilities work and how they should work in the future.

The process has enabled architects to create preliminary models of how the facilities will relate to one other — a concept known as stacking — and how they should be used to ensure that necessary alignments are achieved in the building design. The design and programming work in progress now will help determine the final architecture of new buildings.

Shown is the newly opened Northern Lights Cafe, on the main level of the Center for Advanced Medicine. The cafe opened March 13 to replace the now-shuttered cafeteria in the Kingshighway Building, which was closed in preparation for construction.

As part of the permit process, a conceptual rendering of the new buildings for the campus has been developed. While the exterior designs are subject to change, they provide an opportunity to visualize the replacement of existing buildings and the integration of new buildings on the Medical Campus.

“Consistent with our focus on innovative, comprehensive and compassionate care, we are developing new buildings that will serve the health-care needs of our patients now and in the future,” says Rich Liekweg, president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and BJC group president. “We will increase the number of private patient rooms, improve parking and access and incorporate more green space on the campus.”

Joan Magruder, president of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, says the planning is patient- and family-focused. “Working together with representatives from each of our hospitals and the medical school assures that our campus will meet the needs of our patients and allow our clinicians to do their very best work,” Magruder says.

Mindful of the history of both Barnes and Jewish hospitals, a BJH team has been established to preserve significant historical artifacts such as cornerstones, other architectural features and portraits on the north campus. The architects will develop plans to incorporate some of these elements into new buildings.

Past and present donors will continue to be recognized during and after construction. And a reception planned for May 8 in the Kingshighway Building will encourage employees who began their careers at the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, as well as other campus employees and community members, to share their memories and learn more about the campus renewal plans.