LANSING - Landlocked on its campus east of downtown, Sparrow Hospital officials looked south across their location on Michigan Avenue and envisioned a plot of real estate that would be ideal for expansion.

Combine the availability of that land with their need for more space, and the result is the Sparrow Plaza, a major building project being managed by Christman Construction, which is proceeding nicely along with its subcontractor partners and the building trades.

The focus of the new $50 million, four-story building will be the new Herbert-Herman Cancer Center on the first two floors, but the site will also include space for cardiac treatment and general surgery areas on the third and fourth levels, medical offices, and a new 600-spot parking structure. An enclosed walkway over Michigan Avenue connects the main hospital to an existing medical office building and the new cancer center. 

"It's a very tight, urban site," said Christman Assistant Project Manager Michael Prochazka. "We're always working around hospital activities, and our schedule is all about phasing - to keep us productive and the public safe."

Bill Laurain, Sparrow Hospital's executive director for facilities and development, said planning for a smooth construction operation combined with patient and guest safety while maintaining Sparrow's operations at its professional building next door was baked into the bidding process. "From the start we have had a site logistics plan for managing access to the site for the public, including traffic flow and valet parking," he said.

Work began in June 2015 and the project is expected to wrap up in May 2017. About 130 Hardhats were on the project last month, performing interior wall framing, installation of electrical, plumbing, ventilation and other mechanical systems, installing an ice melt system in the plaza, laying the brick facade, and roofing work, among other tasks.

The 135,000-square-foot building that will house the cancer center will include four levels, plus a basement and a mechanical penthouse. The site once held an old bank, which became the Sparrow Foundation building, now demolished, and prior to that, an old school.

"The trades are doing great," Prochazka said. "We're working under a PLA (project labor agreement), and we have a participation from a local workforce. They're doing very well."

With the primary role of the new building that of a cancer center, there are all manner of advanced medical and construction components inside. The building will include 40 infusion bays for cancer treatment, a first-floor radiation room, and three linear accelerator vaults lined with four-foot thick concrete walls to capture radiation emissions.  

Sparrow says the space in the building can easily be adapted for next-generation technologies in cancer treatment. This project has long been on the wish list for Sparrow: Mid-Michigan has lacked a major, dedicated cancer center, and this building will streamline Sparrow's care into one facility, including space for cancer screenings, scheduling, blood draws, imaging, treatment, and surgery.

The naming of the Herbert-Herman Cancer Center facility recognizes a combined $2.5 million philanthropic gift from James and Judith Herbert of Lansing, and James and Susan Herman of East Lansing.

“As a cancer survivor I have witnessed first hand the tremendous things Sparrow caregivers and physicians do to help people who are going through one of the most trying times of their lives,” said Judith Herbert.  “But just as noticeable is that they need more space.  We have so many wonderful caregivers in place – among the best in the world – and with a new cancer center we can give them a facility that supports the innovative care they provide.”

James Herman, M.D., is also medical director of the Sparrow Cancer Center. “Cancer affects one in three people.  Sparrow is caring for 2,000 new patients each year, but our facility is land-locked.  This facility means a state-of-the-art cancer center in our community.  We’ll be able to give our patients the environment they deserve.”

A portion of the building will feature a green roof deck and visitor access to a healing garden view through the south windows. A central patient-friendly "The project has gone well," Laurain said. "Christman has done a nice job, and the trades have really stepped up to provide the manpower we need."

THE NEW 135,000-SQUARE-FOOT Sparrow Hospital Herbert-Herman Cancer Center in Lansing sits between an existing professional building, at left, and a new parking deck, unseen at right, and across Michigan Avenue from the main hospital.

PULLING #10 THHN WIRE through a panel at the Sparrow Plaza project is Justin Larrison of IBEW Local 665. He’s employed by Superior Electric.

PLACING A DUCT in one of three linear accelerator vaults at Sparrow Hospital’s new cancer center are (l-r) Clay Briggs and Don Youngs of Sheet Metal Workers Local 7. They’re employed by Dee Cramer. The vaults have four-foot-thick walls and three-foot-thick ceilings which act as radiation shields.