Jefferson Healthcare officials are moving forward on a $112 million makeover of the south campus of the hospital in Port Townsend.

The hospital district has indicated it expects to place a referendum on the project before voters in 2022.

The hospital district hopes to replace the 1965-era building on the campus on Sheridan Street, and the project would include a new medical office building and ancillary surgery center that’s two to three stories high.

According to a preliminary concept submitted to the state, the project will comprise approximately 100,500 square feet of new construction. The medical office building and surgery center will take up about 54,000 square feet.

The scope of the project includes express clinic space, cardiac/pulmonary rehab, a new MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) suite, a new dietary department with kitchen facilities for patient, staff, and public food preparation and dining area to accommodate hospital staff and the public, as well as replacement space for facilities, vascular ultrasound, and house supervisors.

The preliminary concept for the expansion part of the project shows the hospital hopes to move primary care, women’s health, dermatology, urology, and sub-specialties from the existing hospital to the new medical office building.

The addition may also be used for new services including ear/nose/throat, pulmonology, and neurology.

An addition of 10,000 square feet of space will be added to the basement to provide improved space for environmental/safety services, laundry, facilities, and central supply.

New construction infill on the campus is expected to total roughly 45,000 square feet.

Construction costs for the replacement and addition project have been estimated at $75 million.

Including equipment and furnishing, contract administration, off-site costs,  permitting, sales tax, and other costs, the total cost of the project has been estimated at $112.7 million, according to Jefferson Healthcare’s application for design-build approval from the state.

The expansion and replacement project is expected to be initially funded through Jefferson Healthcare’s cash reserves for programming, planning, and design.

Jefferson Healthcare officials, in their state application, note the hospital “is on track for a bond referendum in the summer or fall of 2022 ... In addition, [Jefferson Healthcare] will also get significant private bank funding to support the project.”

“Based on the specialized nature and location of this project, we feel this project is an ideal candidate for progressive design-build alternative public works delivery,” the district said in a letter to the department’s Project Review Committee.

Officials added the design-build approach “is crucial to early development of a highly complex project that will prevent impacts to ongoing operations during construction. With the 1965 building surrounded by and connected to three other buildings, maintaining pathways between the buildings with proper infection control measures will be critical.”

The design-build process would also “allow the designer and builder to collaborate with hospital staff and plan the work in a way that will reduce impacts to patients and staff and maintain an efficient flow of work for the design-build team.”

The hospital campus currently is made up of buildings constructed in 1965, 1988, and 1995. The 1995 addition houses the hospital’s acute care unit, as well as the intensive care unit, the birthing center, surgery, pharmacy, physical rehabilitation, and other services.

The 36,445-square-foot building on the campus that was raised in 1965 is currently home to the hospital’s administrative services, women’s clinic, MRI site, express clinic, dietary department, marketing department, and other services, storage facilities, and offices.

In the hospital’s preliminary concepts package presented to the state, Jefferson Healthcare noted that Jefferson County has grown by nearly 5 percent in the past seven years, and patient volumes at the hospital have “nearly doubled in the same time frame.”

Jefferson County has a population of approximately 30,000, with more than one of every three residents over the age of 65.

Jefferson Healthcare said it served more than 600 patients on an average day in 2018.

Hospital officials began seeking qualified design-build teams for the project in the past week.

Jefferson Healthcare issued a “request for qualifications” seeking consultants for the project, with a deadline of Nov. 12 for submittals.

A pre-proposal meeting has been planned for Tuesday, Oct. 19.

Hospital officials expect to eventually find three finalists before issuing a “request for proposals” on the project.