LBJ Hospital Brings Hope and Transformation to Northeast Houston
- Location: LBJ Hospital Campus, Northeast Harris County, Houston, Texas.
- Cost: $1.6 billion as part of Harris Health’s larger $2.9 billion strategic facility improvement plan.
- Funding: Primarily funded by a $2.5 billion bond referendum approved by voters in November 2023, supplemented by $100 million in philanthropic support and $300 million in operational savings.
- Facility Details:
- 12-story hospital, 1.3 million square feet.
- 390 private patient rooms, expandable to 450.
- Level I trauma center capabilities.
- 15 operating rooms plus a hybrid operating room.
- Rooftop helipad for rapid patient transport.
- Significance: This will be Harris County’s first Level I trauma facility outside the Texas Medical Center, designed to significantly enhance medical services to an underserved community.
In northeast Houston, a massive transformation is underway. A 12-story, state-of-the-art hospital is rising, designed not just to expand but to fundamentally elevate healthcare in a community long underserved.
Upgrading the Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Hospital is a $1.6 billion project, and is scheduled to open in late 2028. It promises to reshape medical care across Harris County. For residents accustomed to an aging facility offering limited emergency services, the change will be profound.
“This trauma-one hospital is designed to cater to a wide range of medical needs, from routine procedures to the most complex emergency surgeries,” explained Mike Carpenter, Project Director for McCarthy Construction. Once complete, the facility will boast 390 private patient rooms, expandable to 450, significantly upgrading from the current 332-bed hospital.
Perhaps most crucially, this new LBJ facility will become one of Harris County’s few Level I trauma centers outside of the Texas Medical Center. Currently, LBJ Hospital is rated as Trauma Level 3, leaving critical patients in northeast Houston to be transported farther away in emergencies, losing precious minutes that could mean life or death.
“We’ve completed a lot of work, and we’re excited to show you everything we’ve accomplished thus far,” said Adam Sangl, Senior Project Director for McCarthy Construction. Sangl, standing amid the sprawling construction site, noted the rapid progress since McCarthy mobilized in July and began heavy construction work in October 2024.
Indeed, the scale is staggering. The site will encompass 1.3 million square feet, and as Senior Superintendent Joe Trenkamp explained, “We’re going to have 1.5 million square feet of elevated deck. From drilling start to top-out of structure is going to be 15 months, topping out the 12-story structure at the end of 2025.” Already, teams have placed 2,500 auger cast piles, capped by 370 pile caps—essential groundwork for such a monumental build.
But beyond bricks and steel, the project has meaning woven deeply into its blueprint. Harris Health System has served as a safety net since its founding in 1966, dedicated to treating patients regardless of financial circumstance. The northeast side of Houston, historically overlooked, has long needed this upgrade. The new hospital represents a rare promise kept to the residents, whose overwhelming support of a $2.5 billion bond referendum in November 2023 made this expansion possible.
On the site today, approximately 250 workers are busy, having already logged over 200,000 safe man-hours. That number will surge dramatically, peaking at around 1,400 workers by the summer of 2026. It’s a testament not only to the project’s complexity but also its importance to the community.
Senior Superintendent Adam Hernandez shared details on current progress. “The tunnel itself is about three quarters of the way complete,” Hernandez said, indicating the extensive below-ground infrastructure that will support the hospital’s vital functions. “We plan on pouring the very first pour of level one this week.” Concrete foundations, utility tanks, and intricate shoring systems continue to progress smoothly.
But the true transformation will extend far beyond the facility’s impressive architecture. Harris Health’s partnership with UTHealth Houston, established over three decades ago, is slated to expand dramatically with this new development. The hospital will enhance training opportunities for medical residents and faculty, deepening its commitment to clinical excellence and patient care.
Senior Project Director Sangl emphasized the project’s broader vision, noting, “McCarthy and Harris Health are aligned on a common goal of getting out and serving the community, which will eventually become the clientele of the hospital.” This new hospital, he implied, is not just a building but an investment in human dignity, access, and equity.
The promise of the new LBJ Hospital is clear: quicker emergency care, greater medical capacity, and significantly enhanced trauma capabilities. For Northeast Harris County, this monumental healthcare infrastructure can’t come soon enough.
As construction continues, so too does community anticipation. With every pile driven into the ground and every beam lifted skyward, residents inch closer to a future where healthcare matches the immense needs of their community.
Directions to LBJ Hospital
5656 Kelley St
Houston, TX 77026
713-566-5100
Additional Details and Interview Transcriptions
Adam Sangl Sr. Project Director McCarthy Construction
We’re here on the Lyndon B Johnson site, home of the future LBJ expansion in northeast Houston, Texas. LBJ hospital is part of the Harris health system, which is the Community Hospital for Harris County. Harris Health is committed to serving the most underserved population of Harris County. McCarthy is proud to be part of this project. We were awarded the job in the first quarter of 2024. We mobilized on site in July and began production work in October, and just as four short months, we’ve completed a lot of work, and we’re excited to show you everything we’ve accomplished thus far.
Mike Carpenter , Project Director, McCarthy Construction
The new 12 story hospital will include 1.3 million square feet, 390 patient rooms, with the capability of expanding to 450 when needed. With a rooftop helipad, 15 dedicated or rooms and a cutting edge hybrid or room, this trauma one hospital is designed to cater to a wide range of medical needs, from routine procedures to the most complex emergency surgeries.
Johnathan Montoya, Sr. Safety Manager, McCarthy Construction
Currently, we have 250 people on site. We’ve worked more than 200,000 safe man hours. We’ll hit peak manpower, which is 1400 people, summer of 2026 and that’ll go till January 2027. The two things we wanted to emphasize was FCA badging and our partnership with Alliant. The FCA badging process allows us to onboard everybody on site. It helps us keep track of people in and out to be aligned with our security plan, and it allows us to send a mass communication message and invent an emergency
Joe Trenkamp, Senior Superintendent, McCarthy Construction
here at LBJ, we are going to have 1.5 million square feet of elevated deck, which started last week, which was A major milestone. Prior to that, we were putting in place 2500 auger cast piles, which will be topped with 370 pile caps done by our very own McCarthy crews. So from started drilling to top out of structure is going to be 15 months putting the top out of the 14 story structure at the end of 2025.
Adam Hernandez Senior Superintendent, McCarthy Construction
The tunnel itself is about three quarters of the way complete. We have the south end and the East End remaining to complete within the shoring foundations on the West have been complete and are headed to the east. Seal slab has been installed in those areas as well. And we’re actually standing on the level one deck, and we plan on pouring the very first pour of level one this week. Tank one is installed in paved trailers are all installed, not only for McCarthy, but for the owner and Harris health as well. Behind me is actually tank seven is being installed. So two thirds of tank seven has been installed. Paving is going over it now as we finish up this concrete pour and concrete has time to cure that will allow us to demolish the road beside us and get the final portion of tank seven installed.
Adam Sangl Sr. Project Director McCarthy Construction
McCarthy and Harris health are aligned on a common goal of getting out and serving the community, which will eventually become the clientele of the hospital when it opens as a community based builder. The LBJ team felt it was imperative that we get out in the community and start making a positive impact from the very beginning, we’re excited to share some of the things we’ve done to date.
Chase Martin, Project Engineer, McCarthy Construction
Here at LBJ, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to help the community as much and as often as we can. We’ve done several community service events since mobilizing. A few of the events that we’ve done out here are the Martin Luther King Day of Service, where we served at the Houston Food Bank. Helped set up and clean up at the event center in city gas as well as participate in the American Heart Walk and raise over $1,000 for the American Heart Association. These are just a few of the events we’ve done since mobilizing, and we can’t wait to see where we can stretch our hands out next.
Danny Lovelady, CEO & President, ASE Security Systems
Harris health, as well as McCarthy, are committed to the inclusion of minority and women owned businesses. We have the opportunity for a company of our size to participate in one of the game changer projects for Harris County. We also have the opportunity to employ members of the community in our security role. Part of our role is to provide physical security as well as electronic security for the construction project. We also are integrating in the wireless technology as well as remote surveillance cameras to our phone systems where our officers use to patrol. This is a tremendous project for us. We look forward to being a partner for a long time with McCarthy.
Adam Sangl Sr. Project Director McCarthy Construction
Thank you for tuning in today. As the project continues to progress over the coming months and years, we’ll provide additional updates. Together McCarthy in collaboration with Harris health is committed to providing a brighter future for Harris County.
