Harris Health System, UTHealth Houston, Harris County and City of Houston officials were on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony for a new $1.6 billion hospital on the Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital Campus in northeast Houston.

The 12-story hospital – slated to become the county’s next Level I trauma center replacing the aging LBJ Hospital – is expected to open in late 2028.

The project signals the start of Harris Health’s $2.9 billion investment in its multiphase, multiyear strategic facilities plan to add a new Level-I capable trauma hospital, renovate the current LBJ facility, expand the capacity of existing Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital, and add three new health centers in Northwest, Southwest and Eastern Harris County.

The groundbreaking which featured executives and board members of Harris Health and UTHealth Houston, along with philanthropic supporters from the Harris Health Strategic Fund and Harris County Hospital District Foundation, took place in an open-air tent holding hundreds of onlookers, with music provided by the local Kashmere High School Stage Band known as Thunder Soul.

The new hospital will include approximately 1.3 million square feet, and will feature 390 private rooms, with the space to add 60 more when additional capacity is needed. With a rooftop helipad, 15 dedicated operating rooms and a cutting-edge hybrid operating room, the hospital is designed to cater to a wide range of medical needs from routine procedures to the most complex emergency surgeries.

Harris County voters overwhelmingly approved the $2.5 bond supporting Harris Health’s strategic facilities plan in November 2023, with more than 72 percent approving the measure.