Healthcare needs across Northeast Wisconsin are growing. That means planning for the future while caring for today's patients.
At HSHS St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center in Green Bay, years of planning have moved into construction. HSHS broke ground Sept. 23, 2026 on a new six story inpatient tower designed to expand capacity for medical, surgical, intensive and cardiovascular care while the existing hospital continues serving patients.
The tower is part of a broader transformation of the St. Mary's campus expected to continue through 2028.
The need for additional capacity at St. Mary's reflects changes already happening across Northeast Wisconsin. HSHS has identified population growth, an aging population and increasing demand for care as drivers behind its investment in the Green Bay campus.
St. Mary's has served Green Bay's west side since 1960, and its location off I-41 gives patients from surrounding communities direct access. HSHS has reported that St. Mary's serves patients traveling from as far north as Michigan's Upper Peninsula to as far south as Fond du Lac.
At the September groundbreaking, Bob Erickson, President and CEO of HSHS Wisconsin Market, pointed to the region's quickly growing healthcare needs and described the new tower as HSHS's direct response to those changing needs. The additional capacity will support patients navigating serious illnesses, surgical procedures and intensive care needs.
Current information about the expansion and campus transformation is available on the HSHS St. Mary's project page.
The new tower expands the space available for medical, surgical, intensive and cardiovascular care as demand for those services grows. The six story addition will include more than 100 private patient rooms, with intensive care capacity increasing from 8 beds to 36.
Plans also include two cardiovascular operating rooms and a dedicated cardiac procedural room. The new tower will free space elsewhere on the existing campus for new kitchen and dining facilities, enhanced security and expanded parking.
The transformation also looks beyond current capacity. HSHS has said the tower is being designed to accommodate additional growth in the future as community needs evolve.
Creating that capacity has required changes across an operating hospital campus before tower construction could begin.
Campus preparation started in 2025 with demolition of the former Crossroads Care Center property. Attention then shifted to the North Building, a structure that had been part of the St. Mary's campus since 1958. Contractors spent months dismantling the interior piece by piece before demolition began in June 2026. Demolition of the North Building was completed during the summer, clearing the future tower site for groundbreaking.
Throughout that work, the main hospital remained operational. HSHS has said the demolition and construction sequence was planned so patient care would not be interrupted and services in the main hospital could continue.
Building beside an operating hospital is work C.D. Smith has delivered before, including at Gundersen St. Joseph's Hospital and Clinics, where a new hospital was built beside the existing facility while patient care continued.
Campus preparation has also included material reuse. HSHS reported that when a campus building was demolished in fall 2025, recyclable materials were separated and concrete was crushed onsite for reuse as foundational fill for the new tower. Medical equipment and furnishings from the North Building were also donated for reuse.
By the September groundbreaking, years of planning and preconstruction had prepared the project to move into construction.
C.D. Smith is serving as Construction Manager for the St. Mary's inpatient tower, working alongside HSHS, HGA and Ankura as the project moves into construction. Earlier in the project, collaborative preconstruction and Big Room budget and schedule sessions helped the team evaluate decisions together and brought the inpatient tower within budget.
That work is detailed in Confidence Built Early: Healthcare Construction Success Starts Before Groundbreaking, which looks at how early collaboration supported budget, schedule and project decisions at St. Mary's before construction began.
The HSHS St. Mary's inpatient tower brings together healthcare, design, construction and advisory partners as the campus transformation moves forward.
Healthcare needs rarely change in only one place. Population growth, patient acuity, access, clinical capacity and the physical environment eventually converge in the same facility decisions.
At St. Mary's, those decisions are now taking physical form. Additional inpatient and intensive care capacity is moving into construction while the hospital continues caring for patients.
For any hospital weighing new capacity, the question is the same one St. Mary's faced: how to build for the patients coming next while continuing to care for the ones already here.
March 2025: Hospital Sisters Health System announces an estimated $270 million strategic capital investment in HSHS St. Mary's and HSHS St. Vincent hospitals in Green Bay. St. Mary's is identified as the site of the largest expansion and transformation.
September 2025: HSHS releases updated architectural renderings as early construction activity begins on the St. Mary's campus. Plans include a new inpatient tower with additional intermediate and intensive care capacity and room for future growth.
Fall 2025: The former Crossroads Care Center property is demolished as preparation for the broader St. Mary's campus transformation continues.
June 2026: Demolition begins on the North Building following months of interior dismantling. Removing the structure clears the future site of the new inpatient tower while the main hospital remains operational.
September 23, 2026: HSHS St. Mary's breaks ground on the new six story inpatient tower, moving the project into its next phase of construction.
2028: HSHS anticipates completion of the broader St. Mary's campus revitalization.
HSHS St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center is building a new six story inpatient tower as part of a broader campus revitalization. The tower will add more than 100 private rooms for medical, surgical and intensive care patients along with new cardiovascular operating and procedural space.
HSHS anticipates completion of the broader St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center revitalization project in 2028.
The new inpatient tower will increase intensive care capacity at HSHS St. Mary's from 8 beds to 36.
HSHS has said it does not anticipate disruption to patient care during the renovation project and that plans are in place to maintain care while work continues on the campus.
HGA is the architect, C.D. Smith Construction is serving as Construction Manager and Ankura provides healthcare strategic advisory for the HSHS St. Mary's inpatient tower project. HSHS St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center is the healthcare organization leading the campus transformation.