Banner Gateway Medical Center threw open the doors to its new, five-story patient tower and additional areas Tuesday, March 21, doubling the size of the hospital.  

The $243-million project is expected to add more than 600 new jobs. 

The 351,000-square-foot addition includes an expanded Women and Infant Services Unit, added space for inpatient cancer care by Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center — which shares the campus — and more space for surgical, emergency, endoscopy and imaging services.  

Licensed inpatient beds at Banner Gateway will increase from 177 to 286 with additional shell space to accommodate future growth.  

Two new surface parking lots were also constructed, adding 492 new parking spaces for visitor and staff use. The helipad has been relocated to the new tower’s rooftop.   

“We’re excited we can offer this addition for our patients and the communities we serve,” Darren McCollem, Banner Gateway’s chief operating officer, said in a release from Banner Health. “As the state and particularly the East Valley continue to grow in population, we want to make sure we’re meeting the demands of quality health care. This expansion addresses the need for enhanced services that will help our patient populations now and in the future.” 

In addition to the new tower, an expanded Women and Infant Services Unit opened last month, addressing the need for enhanced women and infant care, including labor, delivery and postpartum. This includes a new neonatal intensive care unit for babies that need extra care.  

Banner Gateway outgrew its previous eight-bed NICU, and added 16 larger rooms, a family lounge, and lots of windows for natural lighting. Banner also added five labor and delivery rooms and nine postpartum rooms. 

“We have an average of 4,000 deliveries per year at Banner Gateway, and with the new rooms, we’re so happy to be able to accommodate up to 6,000 per year,” Shannon Garcia, director of Women and Infant Services, said in the release. 

The architect is Smith Group, and McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., is the general contractor. 

“We’re proud of the collaborative approach by our integrated project team, which was instrumental in bringing the expanded facility as quickly as possible to the community,” Kurt Radtke, project director for McCarthy Building Companies who oversees the Banner Gateway tower expansion project, said in a release from McCarthy. “We are all aware of the challenges that many construction projects are facing these days. Thanks to the solutions developed by our team with Banner, SmithGroup and our trade partners, innovations and risk mitigation strategies, the team drove savings back into the project to incorporate additional scope and upgrades.  It’s a testament to the team’s exceptional coordination and creative thinking.”   

Construction on the tower expansion began in February 2021 and some campus renovation work will continue into 2024. McCarthy Building Companies completed the initial Banner Gateway Medical Center campus in 2007. 

Banner Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert offers emergency care, surgery, women’s services, obstetrics and medical/surgical beds. Banner Gateway and Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center are part of Banner Health, a nonprofit health care system with 30 hospitals in six states.  

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