Houston Methodist announces new $1.4 billion hospital tower

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Change is coming to the Texas Medical Center skyline, even if it is still a little ways off.

Houston Methodist is building a $1.4 billion Centennial Tower, slated to open in 2027.

The 26-story building will house a new and larger emergency department, plus nearly 400 patient beds. The tower is also expected to replace existing space for transplant medicine, intermediate care and surgical intensive care, the hospital said.

The new emergency area will have a larger entrance on John Freeman Boulevard and Bertner Avenue that will also include pedestrian and ambulance drop-off sites.

In addition, the tower will replace seven operating rooms and add two operating room suites and enhanced radiology services.

It's a medical building, but there's also a feature that might make it feel even less clinical.

A rooftop outdoor garden will sit atop the tower's 14th floor complete with trees and landscaping for patients, visitors and staff to find some respite, Methodist says.

Once the tower is complete, it will connect to the Paula and Joseph C. "Rusty" Walter III Tower, which opened in 2018 and is home to the DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute.

The project means Houston Methodist's Main building, which currently houses patient beds, will be demolished along with West Pavilion.

The video above is Eyewitness News at 6 a.m. and features the story about this new tower at Houston Methodist.