Skanska to Build UNC Hospitals’ $257M Facility

Skanska’s history with UNC Health Care continues as the company announces its contract to construct the new 335,000-square-foot UNC Hospitals Surgical Tower in Chapel Hill, N.C. Skanska is tasked with spearheading preconstruction and construction management at risk services for the $257 million project.

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The new Surgical Tower will rise seven stories at the heart of the UNC Health Care campus. In addition to operating rooms and beds, the facility will encompass offices, conference rooms, an indoor/outdoor staff lounge and locker rooms. Skanska will build the tower in three phases, starting with site development work and a three-story connector basement, followed by deep foundations work and finally, the construction of the main building in the third phase. The Surgical Tower is on track to reach completion in 2022, at which point it will be the largest building on the Chapel Hill hospital campus.

Skanska’s contract also calls for construction activity beyond the Surgical Tower. The company will erect two overhead pedestrian bridges connecting to parking decks and the Dental School building; renovate the Ambulatory Patient Care Facility; and expand the café at the existing hospital.

Long-term relationship

Skanska has completed a few projects for UNC Health Care over the years. The company’s first major contract with the health-care system was for the construction of the UNC Cancer Hospital, which reached completion in 2009. Skanska later provided preconstruction and construction management at risk services for UNC Hospitals’ $140 million Hillsborough campus, a project that delivered in 2015.

Skanska did not disclose the details of the bidding process for the Surgical Tower contract. However, during parent company Skanska AB’s first quarter 2019 earnings conference call on April 26, executives conceded that securing contracts in certain sectors in the current construction climate can be a challenge. During the call, Anders Danielsson, president & CEO of Skanska AB, said investments continue in the health-care and education sectors but “it’s [a] fierce competition.”  Nevertheless, Skanska has signed more than a few health-care contracts in 2019, including a $40 million agreement with The Children’s Hospital Corp. for the construction of the Boston Children’s at Brookline Place ambulatory clinical care building in Brookline, Mass. The company also inked a $45.6 million commitment for the expansion and renovation of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.