UPMC has broken ground on the largest hospital in Pittsburgh’s history and the largest health care construction project in Pennsylvania. 

The new $1.5 billion, 17-story UPMC Presbyterian, to be completed in 2026, will be home to 636 private patient rooms and premier people-focused clinical facilities where UPMC clinical teams and physician-scientists will deliver nationally renowned specialty care that includes transplant, cardiology and cardiac surgery, and neurology and neurosurgery. The existing UPMC Presbyterian was built more than a century ago.

“Every day at UPMC, we focus on our patients, families, members and communities. There is no greater privilege – or opportunity – than to deliver UPMC’s Life Changing Medicine. Recognized worldwide for our innovative thinking, we work with our academic partner, the University of Pittsburgh, to translate breakthrough science from the lab to the bedside and deliver it through exceptional patient care and compassionate experiences,” said Leslie C. Davis, president and chief executive officer, UPMC.

The spaces within the building are designed to embrace technology advances while supporting patients and staff in an attractive environment that matches the innovation and care provided by UPMC.

“This new building – the largest health care building in Pittsburgh’s history – will serve the community for generations to come by dramatically changing the landscape of the Oakland neighborhood, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. But it’s so much more than a building. It’s the beating heart of Life Changing Medicine — something only UPMC can deliver locally, regionally and globally,” said Davis.

The new UPMC Presbyterian is the second major project to begin construction since UPMC first announced three new, large facilities several years ago. The UPMC Mercy Pavilion will treat its first patients in spring 2023.