COLUMBUS – Ordinarily, a groundbreaking ceremony would have marked the start of construction on a project, but the last 10 months have been anything but ordinary, thanks to the coronavirus, so Ohio State celebrated the groundbreaking for its new inpatient hospital building on Tuesday.
Construction the $1.79 billion hospital at OSU Wexner Medical Center began in October but no groundbreaking ceremony was held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so about 100 people gathered for an event at the base of the construction site east of Cannon Drive, where the new building will one day stand.
Scheduled to open in early 2026, the hospital is the largest single facilities project ever undertaken at OSU, with up to 820 beds in private rooms with enough space for family members to stay with patients, 60 neonatal intensive care unit bassinets, an indoor café and outdoor areas to provide spaces for patients’ families to recharge.
The hospital will also boast state-of-the-art diagnostic treatment, imaging, operating rooms, and critical care and medical and surgical beds.