Facts About the New Cancer Center

The University of Chicago Medicine plans to establish Chicago’s first freestanding facility dedicated to cancer care and research. Building a world-class cancer center on the South Side will increase access to advanced care in a part of Chicago that has seen shrinking healthcare resources for many years.

By the Numbers

Size: 575,000 square feet; seven floors, a mechanical penthouse, a lower-level support floor

Construction cost: $815 million

Location: East 57th Street, between South Maryland and South Drexel Avenues

Anticipated annual volume: 200,000 outpatient visits and 5,000 inpatient admissions

Key features: 

• 80 private beds dedicated to patients with cancer (64 medical-surgical and 16 ICU), with family space to accommodate overnight stays
• 90 consultation and outpatient exam rooms
• A rapid assessment/urgent care clinic to protect immunocompromised oncology patients from exposure to other patients
• Infusion therapy rooms grouped by cancer type to replace an outdated open design
• Cancer imaging equipment (two MRIs, two CT scanners, two ultrasound units, two procedure rooms with mobile C-arm/fluoroscopy and an X-ray)
• A breast center that will include screening and diagnostic imaging and biopsy rooms
• Dedicated clinical trial spaces, for streamlined access to the latest research
• A center focused on prevention, detection, treatment and survival, offering complementary therapies, stress reduction, community education and well-being support
• Shell space that can expand vertically and horizontally, providing flexibility for future growth and technology.

Economic impact: More than 500 construction jobs. At least 41% of contract dollars will go to minority-owned and woman-owned firms.

Architect: CannonDesign

Download a fact sheet about the proposed cancer center (PDF)