A Harborview Medical Center planning group has recommended $1.74 billion in upgrades for the Seattle hospital, laying the groundwork for a King County bond measure later this year.
In a vote Wednesday night, the planning group’s members unanimously backed the plan. Harborview is owned by the county and managed by the University of Washington.
The Metropolitan King County Council created the Harborview Capital Planning Leadership Group in 2018 to study the scale and scope of improvements and a potential bond measure. Group members included county, hospital and union leaders.
The group’s recommendations include a new hospital tower estimated to cost $952 million and a new behavioral health building estimated to cost $79 million, among other renovation projects.
County Executive Dow Constantine has said he wants to fund the upgrades with a bond measure on the November 2020 ballot. He’ll need approval from the county council. Two council members, Rod Dembowski and Joe McDermott, were part of the planning group.
The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.