Crews are in the home stretch on a new Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s Hospital on the Lawrenceville campus, a three-story expansion meant to pull pediatric cardiac care into one dedicated tower. Hospital leaders say the build should speed up procedures, cut down on unnecessary radiation for young patients, and finally give families more private, family-friendly space during long clinic and procedural days.
The addition clocks in at roughly 50,000 square feet and, according to local reporting, carries an $85 million price tag, the largest expansion since Children’s moved to Lawrenceville in 2009. The first two floors are expected to open to patients in June, with the top-floor pediatric cardiac rehabilitation gym and clinic targeted for 2027. The Heart Institute is also expecting about 30% of its patient volume to come from outside Pennsylvania, according to WTAE.
What the new building holds
The three-story tower is rising on top of the hospital’s existing parking garage and was designed to keep imaging, prep, and procedure spaces tightly clustered. Architects at HGA say the plan includes specialty diagnostic and interventional procedure rooms and an integrated catheterization–MRI suite so clinicians can image and treat patients without hiking them across campus, plus private prep and recovery areas aimed at lowering stress for kids and families, as outlined by HGA.
Patient flow and regional access
UPMC frames the Heart Institute as part of a broader push to expand pediatric heart care across the region and to pull services that had been scattered across multiple sites into one place. In a press release, UPMC said the Lawrenceville addition will centralize clinical services and improve continuity as patients move between clinic visits, imaging, and procedures. See the system’s announcement from UPMC.
A rehab gym and less x-ray exposure
The project will house what WTAE calls the first pediatric cardiac rehabilitation gym and clinic in the tri-state area, a supervised exercise and therapy space tailored to children with heart conditions. Hospital leaders also point to a cardiac interventional MRI that connects directly to a cath lab, a setup that can reduce reliance on X-rays during some procedures and lower cumulative radiation exposure for patients.
Price tag and fundraising
Estimates tied to the build have shifted since the project was first unveiled in 2023. The Pittsburgh Business Times initially reported a roughly $62 million price tag for the addition, while more recent reporting has pegged it higher. UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation says it has raised about $31.5 million toward the expansion so far, including a $7.5 million pledge from Acrisure and other lead gifts. Sources: Pittsburgh Business Times and UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Jobs and what families can expect
UPMC is already recruiting Cardio MRI technologists and other staff for the new tower, listing roles tied to 4401 Penn Avenue and advertising sign-on bonuses as the Heart Institute ramps up. With the first two floors expected to see patients in June, hospital leaders say the addition should let more families complete imaging and procedures in a single visit and make follow-up care easier to coordinate. See open positions on UPMC Careers.
