Fletcher Allen seeks approval for 128-bed building, to be completed in 2018

Vermont's Fletcher Allen Health Care is seeking approval to build a 128-bed building for patients to replace outdated facilities.

The medical center estimates the seven-story building would cost nearly $188 million and anticipates it would be occupied in September 2018.

Fletcher Allen filed a certificate of need application on Monday with the Green Mountain Care Board, which would need to approve the 180,000-square-foot project.

The medical center says when completed, about 85 percent to 90 percent of Fletcher's medical/surgical beds will be in single-occupancy rooms and its most outdated rooms will be replaced. The project would not involve any increase in the number of inpatient beds — the approximate number of 447 staffed beds would be maintained.