Third part of four-part Diagnosis: Columbus, looking at expansion projects across central Ohio’s major health systems as they respond to the region’s population growth and job expansion. Read the first part — on OhioHealth’s $1 billion expansion — by clicking here; read the second part — on Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s expansion — by clicking here.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — For the past five years, as drivers move along State Route 315 near Ohio State’s campus, they’ve likely wondered about the ever-growing tower under construction right off the highway.

At 26 stories tall and nearly two million square feet, the Wexner Medical Center tower will be the tallest structure on the Ohio State campus. NBC4 recently got an exclusive tour of the construction process, as the building is on pace to open early in 2026.

“They wanted to make sure we were attracting the best and the brightest and it’s hard to do that with a 75-year-old building,” Wexner Medical Center Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Andrew Thomas said. “So, in 2016, a group of us sat down with a blank piece of paper and said, ‘What would we do if we could?'”

Thomas and his team spent years gathering intelligence, including several visits to other elite university hospitals across the nation.

“The first step, you do what’s called programming the hospital,” he said. “It’s a little bit like if you were building a house, it’s how many beds do you need, etc.”

Thomas said his team uncovered several specific needs, including more natural light throughout the building and in the patient rooms, and the need for modernized space to accommodate modern technology. The new parking garage, also a major priority in the project, was finished before tower construction began in 2020. 

OSU built the new tower based largely on the consistent population growth in central Ohio.

“We were coming out of the ground before Intel was announced,” Thomas said. “As the community grows, as our relationships and referrals grow, we can really continue to keep meeting the needs of the community.”

“This building is not just based on the growth in Columbus or growth in Franklin County; it’s really meant to be a service for the entire state,” Thomas added.

Half of the Wexner’s patient population comes from Franklin County, while 16% comes from the six surrounding counties. The remaining 34% of patients come from the rest of the state, and OSU considers that state-wide appeal as a major part of the planning for the new tower.

“When you think about people coming in from two hours away, they have a loved one here, anything we can do to make it a little bit more of a humanizing experience, that’s really, really important,” Thomas said. 

The tower will serve as the home for critical care services at OSU, the neurological service line, liver and kidney transplant teams, and care for women and infants. Ohio State is also partnering with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to build a new neonatal intensive care unit. The new tower will lead to a net gain of approximately 370 beds for the hospital once fully complete. 

From the Portuguese limestone exterior to the Buckeye leaves on the interior floors, the Wexner is counting on attention to detail to better focus attention on the people who will rely on the building.

“It just extends our brand and that’s what we want people to have, that sense of comfort that this is, you know, ‘I’m coming to Ohio State. They’re going to take good care of me,'” Thomas said.