Midland Memorial Hospital, in Midland, Texas, will set to work in the new year on $156 million worth of upgrades that include the construction of a new building and the demolition of the original facility dating back to 1950.

The provider, part of Midland Health, will start by constructing a four-story facility across the street from the original and move departments over to it once completed. It will then tear down the original building, which has outdated furnishings and code violations such as narrow hallways, low ceilings, and broken elevators, as well as expensive plumbing and electrical issues, according to KOSA-TV/CBS 7 News.

“You can’t add the same technology that you would add into a newer facility to the older facilities. So you have to make those modifications, and those modifications sometimes are much more expensive than to just build a new facility,” Abraham Bejil, vice president of facility services at Midland Health, told the news outlet.

The hospital will use existing patio areas to build the new facility and will save land for future building expansions. It also will create a new convention center and simulation training room.

According to hospital president and CEO Stephen Bowerman, the project will subtract 238,000 square feet and add back about 115,000 square feet to the campus area.

“That’s a lot less square feet for our facility teams to maintain, and it’ll reduce our utility bills. It’ll make better use of the space that we have. And being able to eliminate 120,000 square feet overall will save the hospital system some money,” said Bowerman.

The hospital is seeking $45 million in donations and has issued a revenue bond of $89.5 million directly from its revenue that is not affected by taxes.

Patients can continue to access the hospital through the main entrance.

The project is scheduled to begin in spring 2024 and be completed in 2026.

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