Regents approve intermediate design review for $2.191 billion Project Health at UNMC

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents on Oct. 3 approved Intermediate Design Review No. 2 for Project Health, the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s multibillion-dollar academic medical center project. President Gold told the board the project “remains within the program statement budget allocation of $2,191,000,000 and remains on schedule,” and recommended the design review for approval.

The board’s action authorizes detailed design and limited early procurement — including long‑lead items such as air handlers and steel — and the buildout of the core and shell, the board materials say. President Gold said the project’s capital stack will be phased over several years using public and private dollars and that the administration will “not go any further in spending than what we have secured and committed and available for use on this project.”

Regents asked for clarification about the project’s funding commitments and oversight. A university representative responded that the intermediate design review is intended to allow a modest portion of the anticipated budget to be used for design work so the program statement can be developed with more accurate cost estimates; final program-statement approval remains a board action.

The board approved the IDR in a roll-call vote. The meeting record shows the following regents voting in favor: Regent Schroeder; Regent Lacey; Regent Kalamari; Regent Wilkins; Regent Wilmot; Regent Clare; Regent Kenny; Regent O'Connor; Regent Schaefer; Regent Shearer; Regent Starck; and Regent Weitz. The item was recommended by the business and finance committee after prior reviews by academic affairs and other committees.

Project Health is described in board materials as the University of Nebraska’s largest teaching, clinical research and clinical care facility; the administration says it will serve as the primary inpatient hospital for Nebraska Medicine, expand clinical learning capacity, and support workforce development across the state. The university presented earlier approvals for the program statement and a prior intermediate design step; this vote advances detailed design and early long-lead procurement.

Next procedural steps listed in board materials: continued phasing of fundraising and public funding decisions tied to the capital stack and future program-statement approvals as the design and cost estimates are refined.