One of the largest healthcare investments in Chicago’s western suburbs could be coming to Downers Grove.

Lurie Children’s is planning a new $480 million pediatric hospital and outpatient center at 3300 Lacey Road in Downers Grove, near the interchange of I-88 and I-355.

And the project is taking another important step forward.

The Downers Grove Village Council is scheduled to consider a zoning amendment for construction of the new hospital on September 8.

What Is Lurie Children’s Planning in Downers Grove?

This won’t simply be another outpatient doctor's office.

Plans call for a nearly 298,000-square-foot pediatric medical campus featuring:

• 48 inpatient beds

• Intensive care capabilities

• A dedicated pediatric emergency department

• Six operating rooms

• Advanced imaging

• Surgical services

• Outpatient specialty care

The emergency department itself is planned to include 35 treatment stations.

The proposed facility would be located at the Esplanade at Locust Point, near I-88 and I-355.

Lurie Children’s First Community Hospital Outside Chicago

Perhaps the biggest part of the announcement is what the Downers Grove facility represents for Lurie Children’s.

It would become the organization's first community hospital outside Chicago.

The new facility would complement — rather than replace — Lurie Children’s main hospital in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood.

Lurie says the goal is to bring more specialized pediatric healthcare directly to families living in the western suburbs.

According to the hospital, nearly half of children in the western suburbs currently have to leave their communities when they need inpatient pediatric care.

What Services Would Be Available?

The Downers Grove campus is expected to provide a wide range of pediatric specialties.

Lurie Children’s says planned services include areas such as:

• Oncology

• Cardiology

• Gastroenterology

• Orthopedics

• Emergency medicine

• Surgery

• Inpatient care

• Specialty outpatient care

That could allow many families to receive advanced pediatric treatment closer to home instead of routinely traveling into downtown Chicago.

The new campus would also consolidate services currently provided through Lurie Children’s outpatient center in Westchester.

Why Downers Grove?

Location appears to be a major factor.

The proposed site at 3300 Lacey Road sits close to the interchange of I-88 and I-355, providing highway access from communities throughout DuPage County and other parts of the western suburbs.

The approximately 17.5-acre site is part of the Esplanade at Locust Point development. The surrounding area already includes offices, a hotel, restaurants and retail uses.

Earlier this year, the Village approved adding hospitals as an allowed use within the planned development.

Now Lurie Children’s is moving through the more detailed approval process necessary to actually construct the facility.

The Project Still Needs State Approval

Local zoning isn't the only hurdle.

Lurie Children’s filed a Certificate of Need application with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board earlier this year.

The state application puts the estimated project cost at approximately $480.1 million.

The State Board has tentatively scheduled consideration of the project for November 5, 2026.

Public written comments on the proposal can be submitted through October 16.

When Could the Downers Grove Lurie Children’s Hospital Open?

If the project receives the necessary local and state approvals, Lurie Children’s currently anticipates opening the Downers Grove hospital in early 2029.

That means there's still a lengthy approval and construction process ahead.

But if completed, the project would represent a significant addition not only for Downers Grove but for healthcare throughout Chicago’s western suburbs.

A Major Investment in the Western Suburbs

At nearly $500 million, the proposed Lurie Children’s campus is considerably more than another commercial development.

It could change where thousands of western suburban families go when their children need emergency treatment, surgery, hospitalization or specialty care.

It would also bring a major healthcare institution to a highly accessible location at I-88 and I-355.

With local approvals moving forward and the state's review approaching later this year, Lurie Children’s $480 million Downers Grove hospital is one of the biggest suburban development projects worth watching right now.