Work underway on new $1.6 billion Lyndon B. Johnson hospital project

A groundbreaking ceremony took place May 9 for a new $1.6 billion Level I-capable, 12-story trauma hospital on the existing Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital campus in northeast Harris County.

The opening date for the new hospital is anticipated for the first quarter of 2029, according to Harris Health hospital officials.

Harris County voters overwhelmingly approved of funding the Harris Health system’s $2.5 billion bond in November 2023. While the entirety of the capital building initiative will cost $2.9 billion, Harris Health officials anticipate making enough revenue to offset $300 million. The remaining $100 million in funding is anticipated to come from philanthropic efforts and donations.

Awarding construction contracts with 35% minority- and/or women-owned businesses is a big part of the program, officials said, with a hope that such an investment will reap further economic developments around the LBJ hospital area.

Patrick Casey is the senior vice president of facilities construction and systems engineering.

“This is the beginning of a monumental improvement in Harris County to provide health equity for the people most in need,” Casey said.

By the numbers

The new Level I-capable trauma hospital was designed with areas for expansion to meet future capacity needs, officials said. Once fully completed, the facility will be able to hold:

• 450 beds with private patient rooms, including 90 intensive care units, 30 postpartum units and 30 neonatal units
• 15 operating rooms and 1 hybrid operating room equipped with advanced medical imaging devices
• 7 catheterization laboratories capable of interventional radiology and computed tomography scans
• 6 generators, including three diesel and three natural gas, that will allow the hospital to produce its own power