Skanska Lands $189M Contract for NC Hospital Tower

By Barbra Murray

Duke University Healthcare, Main Campus, Durham, N.C.

Skanska has secured a $189 million contract with Duke University Health System for a project in Durham, N.C. The agreement calls for the construction and development company to build a 500,000-square-foot patient bed tower addition at the main hospital campus of Duke University Healthcare.  

The new 13-story tower will encompass 350 patient rooms, as well as bone marrow transplant rooms and two labs. Given the building’s planned height of 145 feet—which exceeds the 120-foot limit outlined by the Durham City-County Planning Department—Duke was required to obtain a major special-use permit for the project, according to Durham City Council records. In December 2016, council members approved the permit and the site plan in a unanimous vote.

In September 2017, ground broke on the patient tower. Skanska is on track to complete construction of the building by fall 2021.

Repeat business

The patient tower addition is not Skanska’s first contract with Duke University. “Skanska has played a major role in the expansion and renovation of the Duke University campus over the past 15 years,” Greg Peele, an executive vice president & general manager with Skanska, told Commercial Property Executive.

Skanska’s previous projects with Duke include the construction of the university’s West Campus Union, for which the company signed a contract in 2013. In 2017, Skanska committed to building the Hollows West Campus Residence Hall, a two-tower development that will be delivered in 2019. Additionally, Skanska inked a deal with Duke in April 2018 to construct a new engineering building, which will make its debut in 2020.

“We strive to build strong relationships with our clients, partnering and collaborating with them to help achieve their vision, and at the same time minimize the impact of construction to the surrounding community while addressing the challenges of completing each project,” Peele said.

Skanska has been keeping itself busy with a host of other clients, as well. North Carolina State University selected the company to construct a 226,042-square-foot engineering building at its Centennial Campus in Raleigh, N.C. Also, Skanska recently signed an additional contract with joint venture partners OliverMcMillan and Spectrum | Emery for construction work at the Fifth + Broadway mixed-use development in Nashville, Tenn., marking the company’s second contract extension for the project in less than four months.

Image courtesy of Skanska