South Minneapolis is getting a new medical high-rise, and it is not subtle. Abbott Northwestern Hospital is adding a 10-story, roughly $1 billion surgical and critical-care tower to its campus, a project Allina Health calls the largest construction effort in its history. The Richard M. Schulze Surgical and Critical Care Center will bring 30 modern operating rooms, about 190 private patient rooms, and a suite of robotics and AI-ready systems that hospital leaders say are designed to speed care and cut down on accidents. The hospital is preparing to receive its first patients on Aug. 29, 2026, positioning the tower as both a clinical upgrade and a long-term investment in the Phillips neighborhood.
What’s inside the new tower
The 620,000-square-foot building is designed to feel less like an old-school hospital and more like a purpose-built treatment hub. It will house 30 advanced operating suites, four floors of private patient rooms and a 27,000-square-foot rooftop healing garden, according to Allina Health. The structure is being built to LEED standards and includes upgraded air-filtration systems, uniform room layouts and expanded family spaces, all intended to boost comfort and infection control. Allina also notes that the project pairs sustainability goals with a community workforce program that trains local residents during construction.
Robots, AI and an MRI on a gantry
Behind the sleek new walls, the tower leans hard into automation. The building will use autonomous delivery vehicles to move supplies, pneumatic tubes that send waste three blocks away and a ceiling gantry that can roll an intraoperative MRI between operating rooms, as reported by the Star Tribune. Patient rooms will feature interactive digital care boards, TVs and telehealth cameras that hospital leaders say will support patient education, remote consults and continuous monitoring that can alert staff to risky movement before a fall occurs. The first patients are scheduled to be admitted on Aug. 29, 2026, kicking off a new era of gadget-heavy care on the south side.
Keeping a hospital running while building
Constructing a billion-dollar tower in the middle of an active urban hospital campus is not exactly a quiet weekend project. Mortenson and the project team had to hit major milestones while work continued around active patient care areas, according to Finance & Commerce. Allina and its contractors say phased sequencing, careful skyway management and community hiring helped keep Abbott Northwestern’s campus operational throughout the multi-year build, even as cranes and concrete trucks became neighborhood regulars.
What it means for patients and costs
The roughly $1 billion price tag puts Abbott’s expansion among the largest health care construction efforts in Minnesota, and outside experts tell the Star Tribune that new equipment and automation can improve care but do not automatically bring overall spending down. Allina officials counter that the planned efficiencies are meant to support high-quality care in the Phillips neighborhood for decades to come, even if the short-term bill is steep.
As the summer moves toward August, hospital staff are finishing training and system integration ahead of the move-in. Patients and visitors in south Minneapolis should expect phased transfers and updated access information from Allina as the Aug. 29, 2026 opening date draws closer.
