Amita Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates to expand

Hoffman Estates officials have approved construction of a $6 million addition to the Amita Health Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, an expansion intended to relieve congestion in the building without increasing the number of beds.

The addition at the northwest corner of the hospital, 1650 Moon Lake Blvd., will be three stories and 14,673 square feet.

This expansion will include clinical space, consultation rooms, group rooms, offices, work rooms, a break room and new restrooms on each floor.

The 141-bed facility is the 10th largest behavioral health hospital in the U.S., offering specialized services for mental health problems and recovery from substance abuse.

The building has operated under its current use for the past 20 years, with earlier expansions approved in 2003 and 2005.

Originally approved as HCA Woodland Hospital in the late 1980s, the building and its adjacent medical center have undergone a number of ownership changes since.

Construction of the addition is estimated to take 11 months from the time it begins. The village board's approval on Monday is contingent on a building permit being issued within the next year.

The approval also requires the submitting of plans for modifications to the hospital's stormwater detention basin before a building permit is issued. Completion of those modifications will be required before the issue of a certificate of occupancy for the addition.

Plans include additional landscaping around the new wing and within the current outdoor healing garden, which will become smaller due to the building expansion. A variety of trees, shrubs and perennials will be incorporated into the existing landscaping.