Vanderbilt revives plans for children's hospital expansion

Vanderbilt is planning an $84 million expansion of its Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in early 2015. According to the organization, a four-story tower will be added to the existing hospital, with each floor of the expansion adding nearly 40,000 square feet. It would allow the hospital to grow its capacity to more than 300 beds, up from 271. Only one floor, consisting of 36 beds, will be fully built out and operational to start, with the remaining three floors shelled for future build-out. According to a letter sent to the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency, the state's health care regulatory body, the estimated cost of the core shell is $64.7 million, and the estimated cost of the one floor build out is $18.8 million.