ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Community Health approved a Certificate of Need for a new 16-story patient tower for Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. The new tower will feature updated amenities for patients in the community as well as the addition of the Marcus Heart and Vascular Center, donated by the Marcus Foundation.

“As our community grows, we have to adapt and provide adequate space and amenities to our patients,” said Patrick Battey, M.D., CEO of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, in a statement. “Ongoing capacity issues with our current facility necessitates this new space.”

The first phase of the $603 million project will include replacing the Sheffield Building and will be completed around September 2020. Demolition will begin in February 2017, with some remediation to follow. Phase II will begin in 2022, and one patient floor will be completed per year, except for 2026 when the final two floors will be completed. The entire project is expected to take 10 years.

“Through this new facility, we will be able to continue our long tradition of servicing our community with a patient-centric focus,” Dr. Battey said in a statement.

Los Angeles-headquartered CBRE Healthcare is serving as the program manager, Atlanta-based HKS Inc. is serving as the architect, and Birmingham, Ala.-headquartered Brasfield & Gorrie is serving as the general contractor. More than 1,000 people, including patients, staff, neighbors and expansion leadership, provided input on the project in workshops and advisory meetings.

Of Piedmont Healthcare’s seven hospitals, Piedmont Atlanta Hospital is the health care organization’s flagship hospital, and it currently has 643 patient beds.