We’re at the Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, NY, home to the 10TH Mountain Division at Ft. Drum.

As you can see, construction is continuing to go on in this economy in the medical industry. We have a crew that is building a parking garage and new patient pavilion for $52.4 million dollars.

They’ve been working around the clock to get this building finished. They’ve been short on parking and it’s been approved as part of the re-building project that’s going on here at this hospital.

I would venture to say that this type of construction is going on across the country. When an industry is growing, there’s no shortage of capital in order to fund these types of projects that provide jobs  especially with health care and insurance costs rising the way that they do for each of us every year.

At a cost of $61 million, this endeavor is one of the largest capital expansion projects ever undertaken in the City of Watertown – a tribute to the growth and development that our region is experiencing physically, economically, and in so many other ways.

NEW CONSTRUCTION in 2008 -  $52.4 million for:

350 Car Parking Garage New Patient Pavilion – 4 levels (130,000 square feet) for Patient Care   

-  Relocation of units to the Patient Pavilion  Emergency Department, Surgical Suites, Critical Care Center,    Medical and Surgical Units

MODERNIZATION AND RENOVATION in 2010-11-  $8.6 million

Renovation, Centralized Outpatient Services, Expanded Maternity, New Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and Private Medical/ Surgical Rooms

TOTAL CONSTRUCTION COSTS _______________________$61 million!