The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will decide next week whether to approve a cost increase of more than $550 million for Project Health, the new teaching hospital rising on UNMC's main campus in Omaha. If approved, the total price tag for the facility would climb from $2.19 billion to $2.748 billion, according to the regents' agenda.
The vote is scheduled for October 9 at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Regional Engagement Center, as reported by Nebraska Public Media. Project Health is designed to build a new teaching hospital for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine, and the expanded plans now call for a roughly 1.5 million-square-foot building, a jump from the more than 550 beds originally envisioned. The project is funded through a mix of public and private dollars, the station notes.
Several regents and university leaders have framed the project as a major step forward for health education in the state. UNMC Chancellor H. Dele Davies highlighted the initiative in May, saying it will innovate patient care, healthcare-provider training, and clinical research. Davies has also said the new hospital will give every patient who comes through its doors the opportunity to be enrolled in a potentially life-changing clinical trial, per the same report.
How the Budget Got Here
The cost increase under consideration builds on a budget that has grown in stages since the project's inception. In August 2024, the Board of Regents approved the initial $2.19 billion program statement for Project Health, authorizing release of $50 million in philanthropic funds to begin non-construction design work, according to UNMC Newsroom. That approval made Project Health the largest public-private project in the university's history.
Regents took another major step in October 2025, approving a second design phase that committed roughly $1.22 billion toward constructing the building's shell and core, as detailed by Government Market News. That funding came after earlier site and utility preconstruction work had already been approved.
State government has also played a role in financing the project. The Nebraska Legislature originally authorized $300 million in state matching funds for Project Health under 2020 legislation, and state officials acted in May 2025 to release the first $100 million allotment, UNMC Newsroom reported. Those state appropriations require corresponding private fundraising benchmarks to be met.
A Restructured Ownership Stake
The funding picture shifted further in early 2026, when University of Nebraska leaders pursued full ownership of hospital system Nebraska Medicine by buying out Clarkson Regional Health Services' 50% stake. That deal included a pledged $200 million donation from Clarkson directly toward Project Health, according to the Flatwater Free Press. Nebraska Medicine had previously been operated as a joint entity between the university and Clarkson.
Replacing a 1955 Hospital Tower
Project Health is being built on a vacant 7.5-acre site on UNMC's main campus in Midtown Omaha that previously housed JP Lord Elementary School and the Munroe-Meyer Institute, both of which were demolished or relocated to make way for construction. Architectural plans outline an 18-to-20-story medical tower standing 380 to 400 feet tall, which would make it the fourth-tallest building in Omaha upon completion, according to Wikipedia. Groundbreaking occurred in April 2025, with completion expected around 2030.
The new teaching hospital is designed to replace the existing Clarkson Hospital Tower on UNMC's main campus, which has been in continuous service since 1955. UNMC leadership estimated in April 2025 that the completed facility will allow the university to train nearly 200 additional health professional learners each year, addressing persistent medical staffing shortages across the state. University officials also projected in July 2025 that Project Health will generate an estimated $3.2 billion in economic impact for Nebraska through its construction and operational phases.
Part of a Larger, Multi-Decade Plan
Project Health represents only the first phase of a broader initiative called Project NExT, according to UNMC. Later phases include conceptual plans for regional partnership expansions and a joint civilian-military medical surge facility intended for disaster and biothreat readiness, building on UNMC's history in national biocontainment work.
Whether regents approve the latest cost increase will determine how quickly the next stages of construction can move forward toward the project's 2030 target opening. The October 9 vote in Kearney marks the latest checkpoint in a funding structure that has evolved repeatedly since the project's 2024 launch.
