UNMH: Critical Care Tower experiencing construction delays 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – One of the biggest hospital construction projects in the state is pushing back its opening date. The University of New Mexico Hospital said factors like increased costs have slowed down their original plan of completion for the Critical Care Tower.

The tower is a construction project nearly ten years in the making. The tower will be the new home for the Adult Emergency Department and ICU, but UNMH officials say we’ll have to wait a little bit longer before the tower is ready to receive patients due to a few factors. 

“Cost and materials and labor is a primary driver right now. We also have coordination of major equipment such as MRI’s and CT scanners and those seem to be driving the overall delay and a little bit of the costs,” said Chief Operating Officer Mike Chicarelli, UNM Hospital. 

UNMH said these factors have led to them needing more time to complete construction and require an increase in budget. Hospital officials recently went before the Board of Regents Health and Science Committee, asking for these changes to be approved. “We’re also seeking your approval to increase by 15% our anticipated expense to our budget,” said Chicarelli at the meeting. 

That 15% would mean increasing the budget from more than $456 million to more than $537 million. UNMH says other factors that have caused a delay are complications with coordination between equipment manufacturers and architects. 

“Working with the manufacturers that make the equipment, working with our architects that design the room around the equipment, and then having our contractors actually fulfill those plans,” said Chicarelli. 

Earlier this year, UNMH said the facility with nine floors and nearly 200 beds, was expected to open in November. Now that start date has been pushed back to June 2025. 

“So our focus right now is to ensure that we take all the time that we need to deliver a high-quality building that is here for many years to come, so we can continue to serve our purpose of delivering high-quality care,” says Chicarelli. 

UNMH says the tower is 86% complete. This fall, they will also be presenting their updated schedule and costs to the New Mexico Higher Education Department and the State Board of Finance for their approval.