Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) has started the first phase of construction on its remodel and expansion of the Summit Center.
The first phase of construction is expected to take 18 months, with the first patient seen in the updated center in mid-fall of 2026. Two more phases are planned between fall 2026 and spring 2028.
The project includes a 6,000-square-foot addition to the existing building at 1485 N. Turquoise Drive. The healthcare system has said that the facility will remain open for scheduled surgeries and services throughout the construction process.
According to NAH鈥檚 announcement, the initial phase will add new and expanded operating and pain procedure rooms, with a dedicated preparation and recovery space, new and expanded sterile processing department, new surgery check-in and waiting space and extra capacity for physician exams and parking. It will also add a new location for EntireCare Rehab and Sports Medicine Physical Therapy and a new wound clinic that includes hyperbaric chamber treatment.
The Summit Center remodel follows a 2023 referendum that prevented NAH from building a new hospital campus for Flagstaff Medical Center next to Fort Tuthill County Park. Plans for that project also included an Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) and wider health and wellness village concept on the site.
NAH鈥檚 announcement said the Summit Center remodel is 鈥渢he beginning of NAH reimaging the outpatient environment that was originally planned for the [ACC] at Fort Tuthill and responding to community feedback about keeping some outpatient healthcare services centrally located.鈥� It noted that the project is also designed to make the current building more sustainable and energy efficient.
鈥淲e believe it鈥檚 important to invest in the community, and that includes investing in our facilities,鈥� said NAH CEO Dave Cheney. 鈥淭his new project gives residents of northern Arizona easily accessible new services. We are confident that these facilities will support the needs of our patients and the communities we serve.鈥�
The healthcare system also began construction on a renovation of FMC's emergency department earlier this month. That project is intended to expand the department's capacity in the time before NAH finalizes its plans for the hospital in Flagstaff.
NAH is still planning to move FMC to a new campus elsewhere in the city, though it has not yet decided on the location.
NAH's announcement said it is planning to keep the community informed as the Summit Center project progresses.
More information can be found at .