Free public tours of the nine-story tower now under construction at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., will be offered 4-5 p.m. March  29, April 5 and April 12.

The 670,000-square-foot tower is on schedule to welcome its first patients in April 2019. It will replace the older sections of the original hospital which opened in 1971. 

As many as 400 workers a day have been working on the massive construction project, which began in 2016, about a year after nonprofit Banner Health entered into a 30-year academic affiliation agreement with the University of Arizona.

As part of the affiliation agreement, Banner Health is investing about $427 million in the new tower and in renovations to the existing hospital to create a state-of-the-art academic medical center on the Tucson campus.

This investment is in addition to the $100 million Banner – University Medicine North outpatient facility that Banner and opened on Campbell Avenue and Allen Street earlier this year.

Sundt l DPR is the contractor for the new tower at Banner – UMC Tucson, designed by Shepley Bulfinch of Phoenix and GLHN Architects & Engineers of Tucson.

When the tower opens in about a year, Banner – UMC Tucson will have a new main entrance, new operating rooms, diagnostic imaging and dedicated beds for burn patients.

There will be a new cafeteria, and 204 private rooms to replace the double rooms now shared by two patients in the original hospital.   

To get a free sneak peek of the new facility, please call 520-694-6102 to reserve a spot on the hour-long guided tour.

All participants must wear closed-toed shoes and long pants. A safety helmet and vest will be provided for the tour.