Northwestern Medicine Breaks Ground on Expanded Cancer Center

Northwestern Medicine broke ground this week on a major expansion of its Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, a $210 million project that will add roughly 35 new outpatient infusion bays and expanded space for clinical trials on the downtown Chicago medical campus.

Hospital officials said patient volume at the cancer center has grown steadily faster than capacity over the past decade, leading to longer wait times for infusion appointments and constrained space for the growing number of clinical trials the center runs each year. The expansion will roughly double the center's current outpatient treatment capacity once complete.

"We've been running near full capacity in our infusion suites for years now, which means some patients wait longer than we'd like just to get a chemotherapy appointment," said the cancer center's clinical director. "This building is really about matching our physical space to where our patient volume already is."

The new facility will also include a dedicated space for early-phase clinical trials, an area hospital officials said has become increasingly important as Northwestern Medicine expands its participation in trials for newer cancer therapies. Construction is expected to take approximately three years.

The expansion is funded through a mix of hospital capital reserves, philanthropic donations, and state health facility funding. Northwestern Medicine said the project will also create several hundred new clinical and support staff positions once the expanded center opens.