Intermountain Health announced Wednesday plans for a new Intermountain LDS Hospital in downtown Salt Lake City, according to a September 2 report. The new location is intended to replace the current Intermountain Health LDS Hospital complex at 8th Avenue and C Street, which opened in 1905.
The new site will be located at the former Sears store site at State Street and 800 South. This 8.5 acre site has been unoccupied since the Sears store closed in 2018. The development will feature a 10-story hospital with more than 521,000 square feet of space, an attached seven-story medical office building, and a public plaza at the northwest corner of the site.
Intermountain Health officials stated that the decision to build a replacement hospital followed an analysis of community health needs, patient trends, facility requirements, and long-term growth projections. Officials determined that a new build would offer more value and flexibility than modernizing the existing campus in the Avenues District.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall stated the project would be a significant resource for residents and support the thriving downtown community. Ralph Jean-Mary, president of Intermountain Health’s Utah Central Market, described the project as a once-in-a-generation investment in the community's well-being.
The new hospital is expected to strengthen the regional economy by supporting approximately 2,000 jobs and generating over $1.1 billion in annual local economic impact. The facility will focus on sustainability, aiming to be one of the most energy- and water-efficient healthcare buildings in the region.
Planned services at the downtown campus include emergency and critical care, trauma care, women’s health, orthopedics, cancer care, intensive care, behavioral health, and newborn services. The facility will also include an advanced Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, personalized birthing suites, maternal-fetal medicine, and midwifery services.
Other anticipated services include an imaging center, ambulatory surgery center, endoscopy services, pharmacy, laboratory, dialysis center, and neurology, among other specialties.
Construction planning and development activities are currently underway to prepare the site. Intermountain Health leaders said the current Avenues campus will continue to serve as a full-service community hospital until the new downtown hospital opens, at which point the long-term use of the existing campus will be determined. Project milestones and timelines will be announced later this year.
