Cincinnati Children’s has issued $450 million in bonds to help pay for a sweeping set of construction projects, including a major expansion at its Liberty Township campus and a large-scale renovation of its main Avondale facility. The region’s largest hospital system and second-largest employer finalized the borrowing on Oct. 28, setting up funding for projects whose combined costs top $574.5 million.
The hospital issued two separate bonds through the Hamilton County Hospital Commission: $297.6 million in fixed-rate revenue bonds and $150 million in variable-rate revenue bonds, according to WKRC Local 12. Of that total, roughly $50 million will go toward paying down prior debt, while about $400 million is earmarked for the new capital projects. The station reports that Cincinnati Children’s plans to cover the remaining project balances through a mix of operating cash flow and philanthropy, since the bond proceeds alone don’t cover the full $574.5 million price tag.
Two Major Builds Anchor the Spending
The bond-funded work centers on two big-ticket items: a significant expansion at one of the hospital’s satellite campuses and a large-scale renovation at its main campus, per the station’s reporting. The satellite project is the Liberty Township expansion.
Patient volume at the Liberty campus has climbed sharply since it opened, growing to more than 282,000 annual patient encounters from roughly 109,000 in its first year, according to a report from Healthcare Finance News. That outlet describes the broader Liberty project as a $365 million effort that would double inpatient capacity and add surgical operating rooms. Cincinnati Children’s itself, in a release on its Liberty Campus expansion, pegs the initial investment at the same $365 million figure, covering design, construction and medical equipment.
Bed and Operating Room Counts Don’t Match Across Reports
Cincinnati Children’s own release describes a hospital addition with 72 new inpatient beds, four new operating rooms and three new surgical procedure rooms. The hospital’s release adds that the medical office building is scheduled for completion in 2027, and that renovation of more than 100,000 square feet of existing space at the campus is planned to wrap up by summer 2029.
Avondale Renovations Add to the Price Tag
Separately from the Liberty project, Cincinnati Children’s is also undertaking two renovation projects at its Avondale main campus priced at $38.6 million, according to earlier reporting from the station. The full scope and schedule of the Avondale work have not been detailed publicly…