Wichita seeing medical building boom
The eight-story, 350,000-square-foot Wichita Biomedical Campus, which is set to open next spring, is changing the landscape of downtown Wichita. The partnership between KU School of Medicine-Wichita and Wichita State University is a transformational addition to the medical community. But there are many other medical construction projects underway or planned. Here is an overview of some of them:
South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital is a project of Sedgwick County and the state of Kansas and has been under construction since April 2025 at West MacArthur Road and South Meridian Avenue. The $111.5 million project will include 104 beds for adults with acute mental illness and inmates who need mental health evaluations. Estimated completion is October with the opening in early 2027.
Wesley Medical Center is constructing a new $65 million parking garage that will include 1,350 parking spots (an addition of 460) and is expected to open in Wichita seeing medical building boom about 18 months. The project also includes the addition of a two-story atrium on Hillside to become the main hospital entrance. Wesley also is adding two floors to its critical care tower and a second helipad ($55.8 million) and will add 34 beds to its intermediate care unit. It also plans to expand the Wesley Woodlawn ER from 14 to 26 beds and relocate it to the front of the hospital ($28 million).
Ascension Via Christi held a groundbreaking ceremony in March for a new 11,250-square-foot ER at Kellogg and 119th Street West that is expected to open in early 2027. It also recently announced plans to build another stand-alone ER near the intersection of 21st Street North and 127th Street East, and it filed a $5.8 million building permit for 848 N. St. Francis to relocate its electrophysiology providers in one building. Ascension completed last month the final phase of its $22 million St. Joseph ER expansion and renovation project, and it is renovating its medical clinic at 1947 N. Founders Circle, where it plans to open a comprehensive breast cancer center early next year.
Children’s Mercy Wichita is constructing a stand-alone multispecialty clinic at 29th Street North and Greenwich Road. The $18.3 million, 18,000-square-foot clinic will include 30 exam rooms plus lab and imaging facilities and is slated to open this summer.
Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine is adding a biomedical lab to the school’s third floor. The $1.5 million project is expected to be completed by October 2027.
Heartspring announced plans in March for a multi-clinic outpatient center and applied research institute across from the Wichita Biomedical Campus. The 65,000-square-foot center is estimated to cost $25 million and will be the state’s first facility exclusively for children with neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities. The center, which is a collaboration with KUSM-W and WSU, is expected to open in 2030.
COMCARE Community Crisis Center is relocating its mental health and substance abuse services to 235 S. Topeka, next to the Wichita Biomedical Campus. The $15.49 million, 35,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in January 2027.
Primary Care Associates is planning a new clinic at 21st Street North and 127th Street East. The $12.4 million, 33,000-square-foot clinic will have 48 exam or procedure rooms plus a lab, imaging and diagnostic center. Groundbreaking is expected around August with completion by November 2027.
Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center is adding an endoscopy suite, slated to open spring 2027, as part of a $24 million project. In addition to these projects, several MSSC practices are remodeling or recently opened new locations, including Kansas Joint & Spine Specialists, Breast Care Specialists, Kansas Surgical Consultants and Healical Precision Health.