A former Sears department store site on the city’s West Side may soon be home to a new $70 million Rush outpatient center and a grocery store, the health system announced Monday.
Rush University System for Health plans to open a 60,000-square-foot care site at North and Harlem avenues in Chicago, on the border of Elmwood Park and Oak Park. A new grocery store is also planned for the site, though details about that part of the plan have not yet been disclosed.
The Rush site is expected to rise three stories and include about 90 exam, consult and procedure rooms. It will have an urgent care center on the ground floor, and offer same-day specialty and primary care appointments, lab and radiology services. The new facility will be built from the ground-up and include about 200 parking spaces.
“This is about reinvesting in this community and bringing state-of-the-art care,” said Dr. Dino Rumoro, CEO of Rush Oak Park Hospital, at a news conference Monday.
Before starting construction, Rush must get permission for the project from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. Rush plans to submit an application for the project to that board in coming weeks, said Rush spokesman Tobin Klinger.
Once the project gains full approval, construction is expected to begin in fall. The facility could open as soon as January 2025.
“This is an opportunity for our ward to bring job opportunities but, more importantly, to bring health care to a neighborhood that’s in need of a centrally located facility,” said Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th Ward, at a news conference Monday.
Taliaferro faces a runoff election April 4 against longtime West Side activist and CB Johnson.
The announcement about the new building comes as health systems deal with a growing shift from away from overnight hospital stays and toward outpatient care. Hospital systems across the Chicago area have been increasingly opening outpatient medical facilities in neighborhoods and suburban communities, in an effort to expand their reach and serve more patients closer to home.
Rush is also part of a collaborative with other area health systems called West Side United that aims to improve health on the city’s West Side.
