SSM Health plans to break ground Aug. 31 on its new $550 million SSM HealthSaint Louis University Hospital, with a projected completion date of Sept. 1, 2020.

The health care system released renderings Wednesday providing the first look at the new hospital and ambulatory care center, which includes more than 800,000 square feet of space and 316 private patient rooms.

The $550 million SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital features more than 800,000… more

The design for the new facility, which will be located on 15 acres adjacent to the current hospital off Grand Boulevard between Rutger and Lasalle streets, includes a nine-story patient tower and a three-story ambulatory care center connected by a common space that will include amenities such as the cafeteria, gift shop and chapel.

The hospital will feature an expanded trauma center and emergency department, larger intensive care units and expanded patient parking. With patient rooms on the right and left hand sides of the hospital, the middle section will feature educational space, which hospital President Kate Becker said is key to the hospital’s mission.

“This new design supports our mission both of providing quality patient care and supporting education,” Becker said.

The plans also includes space for future growth. A green space east of the parking garage could be used for future office or retail expansion, the south side of the ambulatory care center was designed to allow for possible expansion, and the hospital includes space to add a possible second bed tower to the west of the new patient tower.

“We could actually double the size of the hospital,” Becker said.

Becker said no decisions have been made yet about the future of the existing Desloge Tower. She said space in the tower is still being used for academic purposes by Saint Louis University. “We’re talking to the university about their interest in continuing use of the hospital space, then we can make decisions about what happens to it,” she said.

Alberici Constructors Inc. is the construction manager for the project. Lawrence Group, in partnership with Hammel, Green and Abrahamson (HGA) and Frank Zilm and Associates Inc., is the architect.

Two high-profile downtown Clayton developments will get preliminary reviews Tuesday night at the city’s scheduled Plan Commission and Architectural Review Board meeting. Clayton officials will consider conceptual plans for a $70 million, 24-story luxury apartment high rise proposed for the northeast corner of Forsyth and Brentwood boulevards. Flaherty & Collins Properties, an Indianapolis-based multifamily developer, is proposing the development.

Each year, the St. Louis Business Journal recognizes the accomplishments of local professionals with its 40 Under 40 Awards. This year’s winners were honored at an awards event Thursday at the Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel. The event kicked off with a networking reception and was followed by dinner and opening remarks from Elizabeth Stroble, president of Webster University. Business Journal Publisher Patricia Miller and Managing Editor Vince Brennan presented the awards to this year’s winners.

Varsity Tutors, the local education technology startup that provides online tutoring and test prep, is the most well-funded tech startup in the state of Missouri over the last two years, according to research from CB Insights. The Clayton-based company, led by CEO and founder Chuck Cohn, raised $57 million in late 2015 from a group of investors that included musician and TV personality Adam Levine as well as former Answers CEO David Karandish. The CB Insights list excluded funding from debt as…