Vail Health Expansion and Renovation

Cumming’s Role
Our first assignment was to provide budget assessments on the initial West Wing expansion project, but the scope of our role soon grew to include a full evaluation of the project, then of the entire program. We eventually provided comprehensive project management support through all phases for multiple projects, starting with the West Wing expansion and continuing through the East Wing expansion.

Project Overview
The main purpose of these projects was to replace obsolete buildings that were at the end of functional life. The emergency and imaging departments, for example, were basically obsolete. Furthermore, the hospital was experiencing a severe parking shortage and lacked critical infrastructure to support future expansion plans. To address these needs and issues, these projects included 458 additional parking stalls, a new central utility plant that supports the entire hospital as well as future expansions, a grand lobby that serves as the hospital’s new front entrance, new drop-off locations for the emergency department and lobby, and new clinic space that allowed the hospital to decompress tenants.

Project Outcome
The entire community has responded very positively to the project. The project was finished within budget. Cumming successfully navigated changes in the client’s C-suite and development and clinical teams, maintained the schedule and budget despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and carried out proactive risk mitigation efforts which not only helped the project finish without any claims, but also resulted in substantial savings for the owner over the course of the project.