Here’s a sneak peek at Baptist Health’s new campus in Lexington’s Hamburg area
Baptist Health Lexington unveiled preliminary plans this week for a new outpatient centered medical campus in the Hamburg area that could employ up to 600 people in coming years.
In a virtual groundbreaking held online, hospital officials unveiled what the new campus will look like when completed in 2024. The plans currently call for a multi-story hospital, an outpatient surgery center, medical offices and a cancer center.
Initial site work on the 129-acre location has already begun. That includes some minor blasting for foundation and other infrastructure needs. The blasting has shaken some homes in the Polo Club Drive area.
Ruth Ann Childers, a spokeswoman for Baptist Health Lexington, said multiple buildings will be constructed simultaneously.
The new campus is off of Polo Club Boulevard and Interstate 75 near the I-75 and Interstate 64 split.
Bill Sisson, the president of Baptist Health Lexington, said the hospital has been planning the second campus for more than a decade.
“More than 60 percent of our patients come from outside Fayette County,” Sisson said. Health care is also moving to more outpatient services. The new campus will help the hospital system deliver more care to more people.
The Hamburg site will be a new campus for Baptist Health Lexington, which will not move from its Nicholasville Road location. There is no space at that location to expand.
The hospital hopes to add 600 new jobs at the new campus over the next four years.
“It’s high-paying jobs,” said Mayor Linda Gorton at the virtual groundbreaking. “Our healthcare system, which is very highly regarded, serves not only the Bluegrass but Eastern Kentucky. This elevates us as a hub for good, high-quality healthcare.”
The payroll ultimately is expected to be about $55 million annually.
Lexington city officials approved a 20-year occupational tax cut for Baptist Health in May.
Baptist Health will get a rebate of 1.25 percent on local occupational taxes for each new job created in the first five years. It will receive a rebate of 1.15 percent for new jobs created from years six to 20. The occupational tax rate in Fayette County is 2.25 percent of employee wages.
The amount Baptist Health will receive in rebated taxes will depend on how many new jobs are created over several years. The maximum amount the healthcare system could receive over the 20 years is $12.7 million. But that’s only if all the jobs are created in the first year, which is not likely.
Baptist Health estimates it will cost upwards of $1 billion to build the new campus.
Baptist Health spent $29 million in 2009 to purchase the 129 acres in what the city calls the expansion area — land that was added in 1996 to the urban services area where development can occur.
Since then, questions have frequently arisen about how the hospital system plans to use the land. Since Baptist purchased the property, a Costco and a Cabela’s have been built adjacent to the hospital’s land.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 12:27 PM.
