Children’s National Breaks Ground on One-of-a-Kind Pediatric Research and Innovation Hub

Children’s National Health System recently marked the official start of construction on its pediatric research and innovation campus with a groundbreaking event. It will be distinct nationally as a freestanding research and innovation complex focused on pediatric medicine. Children’s National is renovating four existing buildings on a nearly 12-acre portion of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus located in Washington, D.C. This includes a research and innovation building, an outpatient care center, which will include comprehensive primary care services for the community and a conference theater.

With 160,000 square feet of research and innovation space—and room for expansion—Children’s National will be able to expand its efforts in the high-impact opportunities in pediatric genomic and precision medicine. Developing treatments that can target an individual’s disease more precisely can produce better outcomes with fewer side effects. This focus on personalized research will also improve access at the main hospital by freeing up space for the high-demand critical care services that Children’s National provides.

The new pediatric research and innovation center will also provide an economic benefit of $150 million through its completion date of 2020, providing 350 temporary jobs and 110 permanent positions. The long-term growth, based on an independent study by McKinsey and Company, is exponential and could produce up to $6.2 billion in economic benefit by 2030, based on projected tax revenue and 2,100 permanent jobs.

The project team includes Elkus Manfredi Architects, Array Architects, Suffolk Construction and Mikyoung Kim Design.

Photo courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects | Array Architects.