Intermountain Health announced Wednesday that LDS Hospital will relocate from its historic Avenues neighborhood location to a new downtown Salt Lake City campus. The healthcare provider plans to build the new facility on the former Sears block near 754 S. State, with construction expected to take between three and five years once it begins.
The new medical campus will feature a 10-story hospital building reaching approximately 208 feet in height, alongside a seven-story medical office building. According to plans submitted to the city last month, the facility will provide specialized services including trauma and critical care, oncology, pediatrics, and care for women and newborns, such as a Level 2 neonatal intensive care unit.
Trevor Cottam, vice president of Intermountain's Salt Lake Valley medical operations, said planning for the transfer of existing services to the new hospital is beginning now that facility planning is nearly complete. Intermountain aims to open both the new hospital and the medical office facility at approximately the same time, though some services may become available before others.
The move addresses long-standing concerns regarding the current hospital's location at 325 E. 8th Avenue. Having operated in the Avenues since 1905, the facility's narrow and hilly streets have presented challenges for ambulances and other vehicles, particularly during winter months.
Dr. Harland Hayes, chief medical officer at LDS Hospital, said the relocation is intended to make the hospital easier for patients and families to reach. He noted that Utah's growing population and increasing demand for medical services are driving the move, as many hospitals in the region are currently at capacity.
The approximately 8-acre site, located near Interstate 15 and public transit, was purchased by Intermountain Health in 2021. The property was previously the site of a Sears department store that closed in 2018. Salt Lake City approved a rezoning for an "urban hospital" at the site in 2024.
Intermountain officials said the project is expected to support approximately 2,000 jobs and generate an annual economic impact exceeding $1.1 billion. The development also incorporates community requests, including designated space for the taco carts that have become a fixture on the block.
The project includes behavioral health resources, addressing concerns raised by Salt Lake County leaders. In a letter sent to the Salt Lake City Council last week, county leaders requested that the new hospital include more behavioral health resources than the current LDS Hospital provides.
Heather Wall, president of LDS Hospital, said while inpatient behavioral health beds are currently slated to remain at the same level, the resources will evolve based on how existing beds at Alta View Hospital are utilized. She noted that LDS Hospital was previously the only hospital in the Intermountain Health network offering inpatient behavioral health beds before new beds were added at Alta View.
While the future of the new downtown campus is set, the future of the original Avenues property remains undecided. Mayor Erin Mendenhall said the city is curious about what will happen to the current main hospital and noted that Intermountain Health is working with the community to determine the site's future.
Heather Wall said that while some medical services, such as internal medicine, may remain in the Avenues, the company has not yet determined what will be done with the current main hospital building.
