OMAHA, Neb. — On Dec. 8, construction broke ground on a new $450 million, 10-story clinical facility for Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha.

Children’s Hospital & Medical Center provides services for children across a five-state region and is home to Nebraska’s only Level IV regional Newborn Intensive Care Unit and the state’s only Level II Pediatric Trauma Center. U.S. News & World Report also recognized it as a 2016-2017 Best Children’s Hospital in cardiology and heart surgery, gastroenterology, and GI surgery and orthopedics.

The new facility will expand upon the medical group’s reputation, offering more services to the greater community and creating growth in medical research for the area. “We’re so lucky in the city of Omaha that we have so much going on in the level of medical research,” said Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert at the groundbreaking. “We’re pioneers. We set an example for the entire country.”

At the groundbreaking ceremony, the new name of the facility was revealed — the Hubbard Center for Children, which recognizes the lead gift from the Theodore F. and Claire M. Hubbard Family Foundation. The design was also unveiled, highlighting the 500,000-square-foot clinical facility that will feature more than 70 inpatient beds with additional space for expansion in the future. The hospital plans to bring 100 pediatric specialists on board during the next four to five years.

In recent years, 60 percent of patient growth has come from outside of the Omaha metro area, according to a statement. Surgery volumes alone were up 13 percent last year, while projections predict patient use of Children’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit will grow by 40 percent by 2025.

“The demand for the high-quality pediatric care we provide is growing rapidly, straining our current facilities,” said Richard G. Azizkhan, M.D., Children’s president and CEO, in a statement. “We must expand — in space and scope — because children and families are counting on us to be the best now and into the future. It is ambitious, but it’s because we care.”

Los Angeles-headquartered CBRE Healthcare is providing owner’s representative services for the new clinical facility, while locally headquartered HDR Inc. is serving as the architect and locally based Kiewit, as the construction manager.