Healthcare Campus Infrastructure at Medical Center of the Rockies

Cardiac catheterization labs, neurosurgical suites and a regional heart center depend on infrastructure that most patients never see: dual power feeds, generator capacity, chilled water, medical gas and fire water that all have to work during the worst day. We build that infrastructure for healthcare owners in Loveland, and Medical Center of the Rockies at 2500 Rocky Mountain Avenue is the reference point for the kind of load a regional hospital places on its site.

The hospital has 187 private rooms and operates as a Level I trauma center under UCHealth. It opened on February 14, 2007 as the sister hospital of Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, built to relieve crowding there and to serve patients from beyond Fort Collins and Larimer County. Its services include neurosurgery, cardiac catheterization and open-heart surgery, with a regional heart center and neurosciences center.

A campus with those services keeps growing at its edges. Parking, imaging additions, a larger energy plant or a supply building are all industrial-scale construction problems wrapped around a clinical core, and that is where we are useful.

Building the Utilities Before the Rooms

On a hospital addition we begin with the utilities because they carry the longest lead time and the greatest risk. We lay out the electrical service, generator capacity, fuel storage, chilled and heating water and fire protection first, then check each against the load the new space will add. If the existing plant cannot support it, we say so in the early estimate, with the cost of upgrading it, instead of letting the shortfall surface in the middle of construction.

Our underground electrical duct bank work is a good example of the discipline required. Duct banks are cast with spare conduits, warning tape, concrete encasement and a documented route, and every crossing with an existing line is exposed and verified by hand before trenching nearby. Cardiac and neurological equipment is sensitive to power quality, so we coordinate grounding and separation with the electrical engineer from the beginning.

Concrete, Excavation and Site Utilities Under Close Supervision

Most of the early work on a medical campus is earthwork, utilities and concrete, which are the trades we are most comfortable managing closely. We schedule and inspect the excavation, pipe and conduit, the equipment pads and building foundations, and the bollards and curbs. Keeping those activities under one schedule reduces the interfaces on a campus where a missed utility can interrupt patient care.

Generator and mechanical yards are the clearest case. A pad that carries a large generator or a cooling tower needs its dimensions, embeds and vibration isolation settled before the pour, and we handle that through our equipment pad and foundation scope. Fire water is a second case: a looped main with hydrants and isolation valves, which we build under fire water loop and hydrant systems.

A Second Hospital in the Same Health System

The Loveland hospital exists because the Fort Collins campus was crowded, and that history shapes how projects here are scoped. System owners tend to standardize their equipment rooms, their power distribution and their specifications across campuses, so a design that worked at one facility is often the starting point at the other. We study the owner's standards and, where a project has a counterpart at Poudre Valley Hospital, we reuse the lessons rather than starting over.

The surrounding area also needs the support that a hospital draws, from medical office buildings to supply space and, as the population grows, a wider range of commercial and light industrial buildings along the I-25 and US 34 corridors.

Where Healthcare Construction Money Goes

The cost of a healthcare project is concentrated in the systems, not the shell. Electrical gear, mechanical plant, medical gas and controls are the large lines, and each has a long delivery time. We separate the estimate into the building envelope and site, the utilities, and the owner-furnished equipment, so the owner can see which numbers are firm and which depend on equipment selections.

Operational constraints also have a price. Night work, temporary power, phased turnover and infection control all add labor and time, and we list them separately. For owners deciding whether to build on campus or at a nearby parcel, the comparison should include those operating costs along with the land.

Loveland and the Surrounding Communities

We serve healthcare and industrial owners across Loveland and the northern Front Range. A project near the hospital draws on the same crews and suppliers that serve Johnstown to the east and the rest of the I-25 corridor, and the same permitting contacts within the city.

The state's energy requirement matters on every conditioned building. Under HB22-1362, any county or municipality that updates its building code on or after July 1, 2023 has to adopt an energy code at least as stringent as the 2021 IECC, with a newer benchmark from July 1, 2026. We confirm which edition applies and design the envelope and systems to it, so the owner does not meet it in plan review.

Utilities and Power Beyond the Hospital

A hospital is one of several large power users in the region. Owners in the utilities and power sector face similar questions about redundancy, equipment pads and underground routes, and we apply the same methods to substations, switchyards and service buildings.

If your program includes a healthcare facility and also a larger parcel of industrial land for future growth, a master plan that reserves utility corridors now will cost far less than reopening a campus road later.

Share the Equipment List First

Send the equipment schedule, the outage windows and the campus plan. We will return the utility scope, the long-lead items and a phased price.

Common Questions

What is the biggest schedule risk on a hospital expansion?

Electrical gear and mechanical equipment are the usual long-lead items, and their delivery dates set the real finish date. Permitting reviews and utility outages come next. We lock in equipment orders at the design-development stage and schedule outages early so they do not control the final weeks.

Can you build around an operating emergency department?

Yes, with a plan. Haul routes, crane lifts and noise are scheduled so ambulance access is never blocked, and temporary barriers keep dust and vibration away from patient areas. The hospital's facilities staff approves each phase before it begins.

Do you build the generator and fuel systems?

We build the pads, foundations, containment and underground conduit. The generator itself, the transfer switches and the fuel tank are usually furnished by the owner or the electrical contractor, and we coordinate their delivery and set date with the pour schedule.

How does a campus project get through plan review?

The design team prepares the drawings, and the jurisdiction reviews them under its adopted code and the state energy requirement. We prepare the site, civil and structural packages with the reviewer's comments in mind, and respond to them promptly, since a slow comment cycle can cost weeks.

Is it better to expand the main campus or build a separate support building?

A separate building is easier to construct and keeps the clinical operation clear of the work, but it adds land, utilities and a trip for staff and supplies. We estimate both options so the owner compares construction cost along with operating cost.

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