A ceremonial document signing of an intergovernmental agreement between the city of Brookhaven and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta was held Dec. 13 at City Hall, officially kicking off CHOA’s massive expansion plans for its campus at I-85 and North Druid Hills Road.
“We are thrilled to be in Brookhaven,” said Children’s CEO Donna Hyland in a prepared statement. “This partnership will allow us to do what we do best – get children better, faster – while also having a transformative effect on the health, safety and wellness of our neighbors in Brookhaven, DeKalb County and beyond.”
The IGA promises some $45 million in infrastructure improvements and other investments to the city.
Plans call for a 446-bed replacement hospital, support buildings, physical plant, the Center for Advanced Pediatrics and more than 20 acres of green space. The hospital will be completed in 2025 and the entire campus finished in 2026.
“Our partnership with Children’s allows us to accelerate several key projects of vital importance to Brookhaven, while retaining and growing one of our largest employers,” said Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst in a prepared statement. “Children’s campus is going to change our community in a positive way, but this cannot compare to the life changing effect it will have on children from across the region and state.”
The $1.3 billion replacement hospital will replace Egleston Hospital on Clifton Road near Emory University.
Anchored by the replacement hospital in the middle of the site, the campus will also feature the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, miles of trails and paths and support buildings along the I-85 frontage road. Plans call for 446 beds in two patient towers, with an attached medical office building and a consolidated AFLAC Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
Additional structures planned for completion by 2026 include a central energy plant that will allow for efficient and sustainable energy on site and ancillary parking decks.
Specific transportation investments planned include funding to begin the process for replacing the I-85/North Druid Hills intersection; an improved access point from North Druid Hills Road; and improvements on several nearby arterial roads.
Additional plans call for a new connection underneath I-85 that will allow direct vehicular access to the campus. This connection will also enable surrounding neighborhoods, Executive Park and Cliff Valley Way, to have eventual access to the planned Peachtree Creek Greenway. New 14-foot wide sidewalks will also be built along the edge of the new campus.
Once finalized, campus plans will be submitted to the Atlanta Regional Commission as a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) by January. Children’s expects the DRI process to take four to six months. Construction on the hospital will likely begin in 2020, once the support building is complete.
Additional information, site plans and renderings can be found at www.choa.org/breakingnewground.