Final beam placed on Med Center Health’s tower project
Published 9:54 am Friday, May 30, 2025
The Medical Center at Bowling Green raised the final beam Wednesday on its High Street Tower, marking a key milestone in the largest project investment in Med Center Health history.
The five-story structure, which broke ground in June 2024, will house expanded mother-baby services and is expected to open in July 2026. The grand opening will coincide with Med Center Health’s 100th anniversary.
“This represents, from a construction standpoint, the largest investment that Med Center Health has made in a single project,” said David Gray, executive vice president of Med Center Health.
Employees and medical staff signed the final beam before it was lifted into place. The moment served not only as a construction milestone but as a symbol of the organization’s commitment to community-centered care, Gray said.
“We have over 4,300 employees and staff and physicians across Med Center Health,” Gray said. “Through that, it’s a way for them to be a part a really significant event and project for Med Center Health. Those names will be on that beam for decades to come.”
Once open, the High Street Tower will be home to some of the busiest services Med Center Health provides. The fourth and fifth floors will support labor and delivery care.
“If you look across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, we have the fourth busiest OB program in the state,” Gray said. “We deliver or welcome into the world each year about 3,000 babies.”
The new tower will also include two C-section rooms, a Level 3 neonatal intensive care unit with four beds, and a Level 2 neonatal unit with 12 beds. A newborn nursery will be part of the upgraded care system as well.
“Patients come from really all across southcentral Kentucky, because we represent or serve about 300,000 people in total,” Gray said.
The project is part of a broader investment in the city and region. The cost of construction and equipment is projected at approximately $119 million, making the tower the largest single investment Med Center Health has made in its nearly 100-year history.
There is room for more growth in the tower. The first, second and third floors of the building are currently unfinished, or “shell space,” allowing for future services as the population grows and medical needs change, according to Gray.
“We’re already working on some ideas to be able to further expand services, again, to meet really the growing needs,” Gray said. “We’re very blessed to be here in the Bowling Green, Warren County area, which is experiencing tremendous growth.”
The location also ties into the organization’s history. Med Center Health first began serving the region on Hospital Hill above what is now the downtown campus.
“Those that came before us would be very proud of what we’ve been able to do here,” Gray said.
The tower’s progress also reflects collaboration between departments and external partners. Gray said staff and physicians were involved early on in shaping how the facility could best serve families, before design and construction even began.
“It involved first starting with involving the staff and physicians to really develop how we were going to expand mother-baby services and get those on paper,” Gray said.
The architect firm Single Hill, engineering firm CMTA, and contractor Kelly Construction worked alongside Med Center Health teams to bring the vision to life.
“(The project took) a great partnership with our architect, our mechanical contractor CMTA, and then also working with Kelly Construction and our staff,” Gray said.
Construction is expected to wrap up next summer, with services opening shortly after.
“We think the community will be very proud of it,” Gray said. “We look forward to celebrating our 100th anniversary with the grand opening next summer.”
