Hartford Hospital Plans Massive Expansion

HARTFORD, CT — Hartford Hospital is planning a massive expansion project that would add five new buildings to its campus in the city, including new hospital bed space and a new cancer center.

According to preliminary documents submitted to the Hartford Planning & Zoning and Inland Wetlands Commission, Hartford Healthcare, the parent company of the hospital, is ammending its "hospital master plan."

To do that, the health care provider needs a special permit from the city, with details regarding specific steps of construction not yet finalized.

This special permit application is on the PZC's Tuesday, Oct. 22, agenda, though a public hearing on the master plan revision is likely to take place by Dec. 12.

According to those documents, five new buildings are being planned for Hartford Hospital's 65-acre campus — which has an 80 Seymour St. address, but the new sites would be throughout the area in the city.

They include:

• A 600,000-square-foot parking garage with with offices on the ground floor for "cllinical and community support program space."

• A new 470,000-square-foot in-patient bed tower.

• A new 80,000-square-foot bed wing expansion for patients admitted.

• A new 80,000-square-foot cancer center and emergency department expansion.

• A 35,000-square-foot medical office building and "President's Corner" revitalization on campus.

Reached Monday afternoon, Hartford Healthcare officials said this is one step in a much longer process toward expansion.

Hartford Healthcare released the following statement on the project:

“There are many steps as we evaluate potential future buildings and share those plans with the city as part of their requested campus overlay. While we have concrete plans to renovate Levi Felt and to replace the existing Jefferson garage, the campus overlay is conceptual in nature to show how the Hartford Hospital campus could evolve to better serve the needs of the community and improve the patient experience.

"These are under serious consideration— as we expand our world-class capabilities, and continue to bring the nation’s highest quality care to the region with an ambition to be the best in the world.”

This large expansion is being pitched three years after Hartford Hospital opened a large, $70 million expansion that was comprised of a new four-story building.

Opening in September 2021, that particular HHC project featured the new "Bliss Building," which is home to new capabilities specializing in "cardio-thoracic surgery and cardiac intensive care, neurology and neuro-intensive care, as well as advanced MRI technology."

For the full preliminary draft revision to the plan, click on this link.

For the agenda of the Oct. 22 Hartford Plan & Zoning and Inland Wetland Commission meeting, click on this link.