SUNY Upstate hospital expansion could demolish 4 of its campus buildings
SUNY Upstate Medical University may demolish four of its buildings to make space for a new emergency care facility. The project is in its second phase of approval, with construction expected to span across the next several years. Leonardo Eriman | Photo Editor
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SUNY Upstate Medical University may have to demolish four of its buildings to make way for a new emergency care unit, syracuse.com first reported Wednesday.
Jacobsen Hall, Clark Tower, the Campus Activities building and the Center for Bioethics and Humanities department building are at risk of demolition, according to the hospital’s plans.
The large-scale project is in its second stage of the approval process, with construction likely to take place over several years, according to its contract.
The improved trauma center is planned to include an emergency department as well as burn units and surgical suites. The overhaul will include operating rooms, a sterile processing department, intensive care units and burn unit beds.
The project plans also boast “state-of-the-art features,” including a partial imaging suite with medical and diagnostic imaging, catheterization labs and interventional radiology. Upstate Hospital leaders told localsyr.com that the facility will be quadruple the size of its current 35-bed facility.
The addition will be located on East Adams Street across from the current emergency room, but, the document said connections will be made from that building to the existing hospital.
A 2023 analysis by syracuse.com found the average patient had to wait up to 10 hours for care at Upstate. The wait time forced roughly 16% of Upstate’s ER patients to leave before receiving any care.
The hospital’s construction cost was estimated to be around $300 million to $330 million in the project’s plans.
Upstate completed the first step of project planning and funding approval in May, when the hospital received its full request of $450 million from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
In its second stage, the project requires an official Request for Qualifications. The request must outline key information about the project and invite design and engineering firms to submit qualifications for consideration.
Upstate’s request was posted through the State University Construction Fund, a government agency that manages capital projects, property and space, aiding in large-scale projects for SUNY’s and their affiliated institutions, last month.
To ensure fairness and equal competition for all firms, the 2025 Design-Build Report by the New York State Office of General Services requires the RFQ to be public.
New York state requires that, in the case of public sector owners, such as state agencies and authorities, contracts must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.
Firms have until Aug. 20 to submit their Statements of Qualifications, outlining their skills, experience and achievements that make them strong candidates for this project.
The SUCF will then review all submissions and create a shortlist of the most qualified firms. One of the shortlisted firms will be chosen after proper proposals and evaluations.
After the design and bidding steps, construction will begin.
