Pennsylvania’s largest healthcare construction project is closing in on the finish. UPMC’s new Presbyterian tower in Pittsburgh, a 17-story, 1.2 million-square-foot building carrying a $1.5 billion budget, topped out in late 2024 and is on track to complete by the end of 2026. HGA led the design after an international competition, working with local firms IKM and Architectural Innovations, and Whiting-Turner and PJ Dick are building it.
Project Scope
The tower houses 636 private patient rooms and consolidates advanced surgical, imaging, and critical-care capacity on UPMC’s Oakland campus. It’s the health system’s largest single construction project ever. With topping out complete, the work has shifted to the long interior fit-out, the phase where a hospital tower’s mechanical, electrical, and medical-gas systems get built out floor by floor before commissioning. An opening date is expected to follow completion in 2027.
Why It Matters
Academic medical centers in older cities run up against the same wall: outdated inpatient buildings that can’t support modern acute care. An all-private-room tower resets that standard in Pittsburgh and keeps UPMC competitive against peer systems investing in new capacity. At $1.5 billion, it’s also a major economic anchor for Oakland, drawing years of skilled-trades work and reshaping the campus skyline near the University of Pittsburgh.
Project Team & Details
| Owner / Client | UPMC |
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| Architect | HGA (with IKM and Architectural Innovations) |
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| General Contractor | Whiting-Turner / PJ Dick |
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| Status | Topped Out |
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| Funding Source | Institutional |
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