Construction will begin early in 2017 on a 123,000-square-foot patient tower at the Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital campus in Humble, officials announced.

Heath Rushing, senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Northeast, said the patient tower is a part of the expansion plans for Memorial Hermann Northeast in the Lake Houston area.

“It was important for us to have a new patient tower that enhances the patient experience and competes with the experience anywhere in the greater Houston area,” Rushing said.

The health system will open a 45,000-square-foot Convenient Care Center at the intersection of West Lake Houston Parkway and Kingwood Drive in mid-2017 and also purchased the 40 acres of land that the northeast hospital campus sits on from the Northeast Hospital Authority.

Officials with the hospital also have plans to renovate the hospital’s east entrance to provide more visibility from Hwy. 59 and add visitor and staff parking spaces, Rushing said.

“First and foremost on our mind is, how do we continue to serve the community as it continues to grow,” Rushing said. “It’s important for us to have the appropriate access points in the community to serve the healthcare needs.”

The five-story tower will replace one of the outdated towers located on the southern end of the campus. It will offer 90 patient rooms at build-out with the capability to add 30 more inpatient beds.

The new construction nearly doubles the amount of beds at the campus and will house dining services for patients and staff. The previous tower will be repurposed as an administrative building.

“Families in the greater Lake Houston area are vitally important to Memorial Hermann,” said Dr. Benjamin K. Chu, president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System, in a statement. “This transaction is a testament to the long-standing commitment made to this community nearly a decade ago.”