Another major Chicago-based health system seeks to tap the growing Northwest Indiana market.

Representatives from University of Chicago Medicine joined Crown Point Mayor Peter Land and other Region dignitaries on Aug. 3 for a ceremonial groundbreaking for its new $121 million, two-story, 130,000-square-foot micro-hospital and outpatient center. The facility, which is being built at I-65 and 109th Avenue, is north of where Franciscan Health is constructing its new $200 million Crown Point hospital at I-65 and US 231.

UChicago Medicine said its Crown Point project is its first in Indiana. It is projected to open by Spring 2024 and employ 150 medical and non-medical staff.  

UChicago estimates its Crown Point facility will see 110,000 patient visits annually.

UChicago’s plans follow Chicago-based Rush University System for Health, which announced earlier this year it was opening an outpatient facility in Munster.

UChicago health system representatives said its Crown Point site expands access to its services to residents of Northwest Indiana, where many of its patients and employees call home.  

UChicago’s planned Crown Point services include: An emergency department and a short-stay inpatient unit; comprehensive cancer center with infusion therapy as well as radiation, medical and surgical oncology; imaging center with MRI, CT, PET, X-ray and ultrasound capabilities; outpatient surgery center; laboratory services and medical offices staffed by physicians and an array of specialists.

Editor's Note: This story was updated with new information from a previously published version. Details on the cost of the project was revised from $86 million to $121 million.