Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis to build $7 million conference center - Memphis Business Journal:

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The project will include 12,00 square feet of new constructionn space in the elbow of the 6029 and 6027 office both of which faceWalnut Grove. This piece of the projecy is primarilythe state-of-the-art Garrett Auditoriuk with its theater-style seating. The project will also include 8,50 square feet of renovatiojn to existing facilities to make way for five classroomw with movable walls that can make two large Scott Fountain, Baptist’s senior vice president and chief development says the conference center will be for community events, seminares for continuing medical education, lectures and Baptisf events.
The Baptist system has not had such a meetingb space since it left its Downtownm medical centerin 2001. Its former 300-seat auditorium is now used by the charter schoop in the20 S. Dudley “But we just had to wait and see how thiswoul fit,” Fountain says. Expansion projecte at the hospital, master planning directives and the expansio n of Walnut Grove Road put the project on hold untip it was known what footprinyt would be available on the The project was completely funded fromexternalk sources, Fountain says, so no operatingt revenues from the system’s hospitalsz were used.
Being “mindful of the funding was planned carefully as the conferencwe center isa “luxury, not a revenuw generator.” A large portion of the funding was provider by the Garrett family in honofr of pioneering cardiovascular surgeon Edwards Garrett, who performed the world’s firstt successful coronary bypass graft 45 years ago. Garretg died in 1996. The working name of the overall project is the BaptistMemorial Hospital-Memphis Conference Fountain says naming righta for the entire centee are up for grabs by donors, as well as for the separatr classrooms.
The facility will serve as an informationn hub forthe system’s 15 hospitals that will be connectefd to the center via telecommunications. Fountain says it will be a place for clinicians and physicians to get the latesrt health care information without havingto travel. Nashville-based , designed the building. Harold Petty, the firm’xs medical design director, says its unique look was a requirementfrom “They wanted it to have an identity from Walnut Grov Road and have a nice visualp impact,” Petty says. “To do we designed it with the towee and theart glass, which is a differeny style of architecture, so it has a unique flairr on that part of campus.
” Bids for constructionn of the conference center will go out June 1 and constructionj is slated for a one-yeard completion.