St. Agnes Unveils New Wing

After two years of planning and three years of construction, a ribbon-cutting on Thursday provided the first public glimpses of the new six-story patient tower of St. Agnes Hospital.

Part of a $200 million expansion project that will be completed in Spring 2012, the new facility adds 120 patient rooms on four floors, as well as a new main lobby and five additional operating rooms.

All of the patient rooms are private, with windows that overlook the Baltimore skyline.

The centerpiece of the new lobby is a , "Spun Grace."

The new tower will be topped with what is claimed to be the largest illumunated cross in Maryland; standing 105 feet tall and 35 feet wide, the cross is fabricated out of aluminum and weighs 5,444 pounds.

The cross will be illuminated by 792 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) activated by photocells to automatically turn on and off. When lit, the cross will be visible from downtown Baltimore.

More than 24 million pounds of concrete was used in construction of the new patient tower, which is clad in about 190,000 bricks.

The facility was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, without a single serious injury during its construction, according to Bonnie Phipps, president and chief executive of St. Agnes Hospital.

The new tower opens for patients on May 22 -- the beginning of the hospital's 150th year of service to southwest Baltimore County.