Who did Penn Health invite to the dance? Penn's Massive Hospital Tower Moving Closer to Reality

The bench is deep when it comes to prospective Philadelphia businesses that would likely pursue working on a proposed hospital tower for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

The health system sent a letter out to firms earlier this month to gauge interest in which firms might want to be involved in designing and building the project. Exactly which companies were notified by the health system couldn’t be confirmed and Penn is reportedly going to release a list of participating teams on Monday. Firms that are interested in participating are required to notify Penn Health by Monday.

Multiple sources indicate that many firms were already aware Penn was ready to move ahead with constructing a new hospital complex and got a jump on it by forming teams months ago to strategize and to compete for the job. The 700-bed project would sit where Penn Tower is located and cost an estimated $1.5 billion. It would be a momentous project for any company to be involved with and count among its accomplishments.

Many firms were hesitant to publicly confirm they were either already on a team, currently looking to be a part of a team that would chase the deal or even involved with some very preliminary work on the development. In spite of that, sources indicate some of the companies that reportedly got an invitation from Penn to participate include: L.F. Driscoll-Structure Tone; Skanska USA Building Inc.; Turner Construction Co.; Gilbane Building Co.; IMC Construction; P. Agnes and possibly Intech Construction.

No engineering firms were contacted by Penn, according to sources, but engineering firms that would likely be part of a team include: Ballinger, EwingCole, Langan Engineering, Pennoni Associates, Urban Engineers, Concord Engineers, and IPS-Integrated Project Services. Both Ballinger and EwingCole have design sides that also reportedly made Penn’s list.

On the design side, things get a little more complicated since Penn would consider local as well as national companies to participate. An estimated six to seven firms that were notified hail from New York City, such as Ennead Architects. Eight firms from Philadelphia were reportedly contacted and they include Francis Cauffman, Kieran Timberlake, Stantec and Bohlin Cywinsky Jackson.

Penn is expected to narrow down the list of firms and teams and ask them to forward request for qualifications and then ask a short-list of six to respond to a request for proposals. If all goes according to plan, a team will be picked at the end of this year.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal