Directly north of the 22 Freeway in Santa Ana, the steel skeleton of the new Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Southwest Tower is rising quickly.

The project, which replaced a surface parking lot on the east side of Main, will eventually consist of a nine-story building featuring approximately 330,000 square feet of space. Features of the new facility include pediatric outpatient services, an imaging center, oncology infusion services, specialty clinics, various amenities, and room for CHOC’s Research Institute.

Rendering of the CHOC Southwest TowerCannonDesign

“The new research floor will be a significant expansion of our research enterprise and is a central element of CHOC’s ongoing commitment to provide every possible opportunity for the health of the children entrusted to our care,” said Dr. Terence Sanger, vice president and chief scientific officer at CHOC in a January 2023 news release. “The inclusion of research within the new clinical building is essential to our vision to ‘Go Beyond’ by finding new treatments for both tomorrow and today."

CannonDesign is the architect behind the Southwest Tower, which is described as having a red and blue exterior that will shine like a beacon in the evening.

View looking north from Main StreetKelvin Cheng

Other members of the project team include McCarthy Building Companies Inc. and Jacobs Construction

The building is expected to open in phases, starting in mid-2025.

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn