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The announcement was made at a meeting of the Westchester County Local Development Corporation (LDC), an agency created by Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, which makes tax-exempt financing available to not-for-profit institutions at no risk to taxpayers.
“Hospitals have long been critical to our quality of life in Westchester, but they are also a fast-growing part of our county’s economy,” said Astorino. “Today’s announcement represents a giant boost for both healthcare and the economy. This is the single biggest financing for our LDC to date and by working together with Westchester Medical Center, we are improving healthcare outcomes and creating jobs, which is a winning combination.”
“Westchester Medical Center, now WMCHealth, has been an integral part of the healthcare and economic fabric of Westchester and the region for more than 100 years,” said WMCHealth President and CEO Michael D. Israel. “As the area’s leading provider of healthcare services and with a growing network of seven hospitals and a workforce of more than 10,000 people, our commitment to the region has never been stronger.
“The development of an ambulatory care hub on our Valhalla campus will respond to key changes in health care delivery, while addressing a critical shortage of space as our programs and patient volume continue to grow. This project will enable us to offer outpatient services currently not available on our campus and further showcase the latest in healthcare technologies.”
Israel said that the dramatic eight-story steel and glass Ambulatory Care Pavilion will include 185,000 square feet of ambulatory care service space, including an Advanced Imaging Center, Ambulatory Surgery Center and Heart and Vascular Institute, and a 20,000-square-foot private-room expansion for Westchester Medical Center, plus another 75,000 square feet for physician offices.
Expected to generate 180 new full-time jobs when complete as well as 225 prevailing wage construction jobs, the WMCHealth Ambulatory Care Pavilion is believed to be one of Westchester’s largest non-residential building projects in recent memory, and the largest healthcare project since Westchester Medical Center’s 400,000-square-foot main tower was built in 1977 and its 250,000-square-foot Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital was built in 2004.
“This is just another example of the significant investments that WMCHealth is making to further its mission of providing the finest care as close to home for the adults and children of our region,” said Mitchell Hochberg, Chair of the network’s Board of Directors. “A project of this scale reflects continued investment in the health of Westchester County and the Hudson Valley both in the form of healthcare resources, services and economic development.”
Bill Mooney, President & CEO, Westchester County Association, called WMC Health's expansion plan "robust."
“The combination of a booming biotech sector, a highly-educated workforce, and a cutting-edge — and expanding — healthcare industry, continues to make Westchester County the hottest healthcare marketplace in the United States," Mooney said in a statement released Wednesday morning.
The new building project is expected to break ground this spring, as Westchester Medical Center’s new 6,000-square-foot lobby and its new Caregiver Center for patient families are opened.
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