Natalia Chi
The former Sears site on the West Side will become the Rush University Medical Center for outpatient care, hospital officials announced Monday.
The 60,000-square-foot center is located within the city limits of North and Harlem Avenues, where Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood borders Elmwood Park, Oak Park and River Forest.
The $70 million center has 90 laboratories and offers services ranging from emergency and primary care to imaging and diagnostics. Construction is set to begin in the fall, and the center is expected to open in January 2025.
Dr. Dino Rumoro, CEO of Rush Oak Park Hospital, said he had been looking for a comprehensive outpatient center to complement suburban hospitals since taking over as CEO in 2021.
“With more and more outpatient procedures, there is no need for more hospital beds,” he said. “Healthcare has moved to an outpatient setting.”
At the northeast corner of North and Harlem Avenues, this vacant lot was once a Sears store. It closed a few years ago and the building was demolished. There are currently plans for an outpatient clinic for the Rush University Medical Center on the site.
The ground floor of the center houses emergency care, radiology departments, and blood collection labs. The upper two floors have non-emergency care rooms that can be closed on weekends. We plan to secure parking spaces for approximately 200 vehicles.
Rumorro said the hospital system was drawn to the location because it is near communities the hospital already serves and there are no similar facilities nearby.
“If you look at the health care map of the area, there are no such comprehensive outpatient centers,” he said.
He said Rush has not decided on a name for the center and officials are awaiting state approval.
The development is the latest plan for a long open space. Located one block north of North Avenue, at the end near Wavanthia Avenue. There is another development on the North Avenue side that has yet to be announced.
The site is located in the 29th district, where Aldo is. Cristalia Ferro will face challenger CB Johnson in the April 4th runoff vote.
Michael Loria is a staff reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Reporting to Americaa non-profit journalism program aimed at enhancing the coverage of the paper in communities in the South and West.
