Funding announced for Northwestern tower expansion

Northwestern University has announced the receipt of $121 million in a gift from Northwestern University Trustee Kimberly K. Querrey (’22, ’23 P) and the Louis Simpson Trust. Divided amongst a number of initiatives at the Feinberg School of Medicine, $64 million of the gift will support Phase 2 of the Louis A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey Biomedical Research Center, located at 303 E. Superior.

Designed by Perkins & Will, the facility originally opened on the Chicago campus in June 2019, bringing physicians together with top-ranked clinical affiliates to solve complex biomedical challenges. With funding secured, Phase 2 will build a new 19-story addition that will see the buildout of 15 new lab floors. Once completed, the full buildout will make the building the largest academic biomedical research facility in the world, rising an extra 340 feet over the 258-foot-tall podium.

Back when Phase 1 was proposed, the project drew intense criticism for proposing to and then eventually demolishing Bertrand Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s hospital. After a bitter fight that included a failed landmark bid and letters of objection from architects including Frank Gehry and Jeanne Gang, Northwestern proceeded with demolition and the building came down in 2013. The new structure, standing 12 stories for Phase 1, was completed in 2019.

With funding in hand, the university will likely look to begin preparation for construction. An official word on the expansion’s timeline has not been announced. Permits have not been filed for the vertical expansion.