UChicago Medicine receives approval to begin designing city’s first freestanding cancer center on South Side

empty lot that is the location of the new cancer center
With detailed planning underway to build a 500,000-square-foot cancer center on what is now a dirt lot adjacent to the Center for Care and Discovery, UChicago Medicine plans to file a subsequent certificate of need application for the construction of the building in fall 2022.

The regulatory Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board has approved the University of Chicago Medicine’s application for a master design permit, allowing the academic health system to move forward with the design and planning process for the state’s and city’s first freestanding comprehensive cancer center.

The $633 million project to build a 500,000-square-foot facility dedicated to cancer care and research represents one of the largest investments made by UChicago Medicine for patients and the South Side community. To read the initial announcement about UChicago Medicine’s cancer center project and how the new cancer hospital will help address health inequities, add to an emerging ecosystem of care for an underserved part of Chicago and be a global destination for cancer care, click here. To read more about the cancer center, please visit www.uchicagomedicine.org/newcancercenter.

In the coming months, UChicago Medicine will be announcing opportunities for community members and patients to share inputs and ideas on key elements of the cancer center, including how best to streamline the care of patients and incorporate families in their care journey. These inputs will inform UChicago Medicine’s detailed planning for the cancer center and the subsequent request to the state Review Board this fall for the actual construction of the building.

Pending regulatory approval, construction of the new facility will begin in 2023 and open to patients in 2026.