The Shelby County Commission has approved a new site for the future campus of Regional One Health.

The former Commercial Appeal property on Union Avenue has been identified as the future home for a rebuild of the hospital.

Regional One Health looks forward to partnering with University of Tennessee Health Science Center to build an academic medical center to meet our community’s needs for years to come.

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted on January 27 to approve an alternative location for the new Regional One Health campus. With this approval, land can now be obtained on Union Avenue for the rebuild of the hospital.

“I believe that we can have in Memphis a strong Academic Medical Center that will fulfill the complex needs of our community and provide high-quality care,” said President & CEO Reginald Coopwood, MD. Building a new, modern facility in this location is an integral part of this journey.”

“This project will become the new front door of Downtown and has the potential to be the State’s flagship academic medical center,” Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said. “By purchasing the land at the old Commercial Appeal building, construction can start quickly and there can be fewer disruptions to the critical operations of the old Regional One Health. This project will bridge two of our most important neighborhoods, the Medical District and Downtown Memphis. It will transform our entire community for the next century.”

“This plan to build a new state-of-the-art public hospital and academic medical center combines industry knowledge and local acumen,” Chairman of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, Michael Whaley said. “I’m proud to support this plan that can improve the construction timeline, breathe new life into our Downtown corridor, and elevate healthcare access.”

The plan for the new campus had previously been to rebuild on the existing footprint of Regional One Health. The health system’s leadership worked with Mayor Harris to explore alternative sites in the area and determined this location would offer several unique benefits for the community and for patients.

“While anchoring downtown, this new site preserves essential academic medical center services in the same area while also giving us more flexibility in how we build the new facility,” said Reginald Coopwood, MD, President and CEO of Regional One Health. “This transformative construction project reflects our continued commitment to advance patient care and modernize our facilities to meet the healthcare needs of the community.”

The new location will be less disruptive for existing patients and ongoing operations as the new campus is constructed. It also presents opportunities for a shorter construction timeframe and the avoidance of inflationary increases. An environmental study was completed to determine the site is appropriate for construction and any concerns could be mitigated. The Shelby County Government will purchase the properties from the funds in the County’s capital budget previously earmarked for Regional One Health.

“We are building both a campus and a way of providing health care that will elevate care in this community for all citizens,” said Dr. Coopwood. “I believe that we can have in Memphis a strong Academic Medical Center that will fulfill the complex needs of our community and provide high-quality care. Building a new, modern facility in this location is an integral part of this journey.”

The Commercial Appeal location will be less disruptive for existing patients and ongoing operations as the new campus is constructed. It also presents opportunities for a shorter construction timeframe and the avoidance of inflationary increases.

Regional One Health is working with Covalus and Allworld Project Management to lead the planning of the new campus build. This joint venture brings together the expertise of a large, international firm with deep experience in building mega hospitals and a smaller, local firm poised to gain more experience and scale for the future.

Together, Covalus and Allworld will manage the planning phases of the project, provide functional and space programs to align with needs, study the campus and facility constraints, prepare comprehensive program budgets and advise on best practices for engaging the design and construction team. The timeline development for this body of work is in progress.