Advocate Health Care has officially broken ground on a new $300 million hospital on Chicago’s South Side, marking a major step in its long-term commitment to expand healthcare access and invest in communities that have historically faced barriers to quality care.
More than 300 community members, elected officials, healthcare leaders and local partners gathered Tuesday, June 2, for the groundbreaking ceremony, which included remarks and a ceremonial launch of construction.
The hospital is part of Advocate’s broader $1 billion investment to improve health and wellness across Chicago’s South Side. That investment includes new Neighborhood Care sites, expanded outpatient services, workforce development initiatives and a new hospital designed to meet the needs of residents for generations to come.
Michelle Y. Blakely, PhD, president of Advocate Trinity Hospital and the South Side Transformation, said the hospital is being built with the community and for the community.
“This moment reflects years of partnership with the South Side community and a shared commitment to doing something different,” Blakely said in a statement. “We’re not just building a hospital—we’re building a model of care with our neighbors that expands access and helps people live healthier lives for generations to come.”
The new state-of-the-art hospital will be built on the former U.S. Steel South Works site near the lakefront, a long-vacant property that community leaders have pointed to as central to the area’s future development.
Once complete, the hospital will replace the more than 115-year-old Advocate Trinity Hospital and serve as a modern center for inpatient, emergency and specialty care.
It will include a 52-bed facility with medical-surgical, ICU, observation, and dialysis beds. Plans also call for a modern emergency department with 16 treatment bays, advanced diagnostic imaging and testing, a cardiac catheterization lab, robotic surgical capabilities, and smart technology designed to make care more seamless and patient-centered.
Chicago basketball legend Derrick Rose also participated in the groundbreaking, passing out roses from his flower shop, Rose’s, to commemorate the moment. Rose, who grew up on the South Side, told Chicago Southsider what the milestone meant to him.
“This is historic,” Rose said. “It hasn’t been a hospital or anything like this in probably 100-plus years. But you have to start somewhere. You have to start that engine or spark that idea with the youth, and this is a great start.”
The campus will also include community-centered spaces such as a respite area, walking paths, and a community garden. Advocate says the design recognizes that health is shaped not only by medical care, but also by the environment, access to green space, and opportunities for connection.
The facility is also being designed with sustainability in mind and is expected to be LEED certified and carbon neutral.
Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott, J.D., president of Chicago State University, told Chicago Southsider she is excited about the project because the neighborhood needs quality healthcare.
“Some of our ZIP codes on the Southeast Side see some of the worst health outcomes when you compare them to the outcomes of other Chicago residents in Streeterville,” Scott said.
Scott also shared that Chicago State University is building a partnership with Advocate Health Care, making the hospital investment especially meaningful for the university, its students, and surrounding communities.
Advocate Health Care also said it is committed to retaining all teammates currently working on the South Side and hiring 1,000 new teammates by the end of 2027 across a range of roles throughout the South Chicagoland service area. The hiring effort began in 2025, and 566 new teammates have already been hired.
The hospital will be located in the 7th Ward. Ald. Greg Mitchell said the project marks a turning point for the former U.S. Steel site and the surrounding community.
“Breaking ground on this new hospital represents more than the start of a construction project — it marks the moment we bury the past and begin building the future of the 7th Ward on the former U.S. Steel site,” Mitchell said in a statement. “This is a decisive investment in our community’s future: world-class healthcare, real job creation for South Side residents, and a catalyst for the long-term economic revitalization that will transform our neighborhoods and change the trajectory of the 7th Ward.”
Advocate Trinity Hospital, located at 2320 E. 93rd St., will remain open and continue serving patients until the new hospital is completed and operational.
The groundbreaking comes at a time when healthcare access, life expectancy and economic opportunity remain major concerns across South Side neighborhoods. Advocate’s leaders said the investment was shaped by extensive community input gathered through dozens of meetings and listening sessions with residents, faith leaders and community organizations.
The project now moves forward with hopes of expanding healthcare access, creating jobs and bringing new investment to a part of the South Side that residents and leaders say has waited generations for this kind of commitment.
