Kaiser to replace old San Jose hospital

Kaiser Permanente plans to rebuild its 50-year old hospital in South San Jose and city officials call it a “win-win” for residents.

The San Jose Planning Commission earlier this month unanimously approved Kaiser’s plans to more-than double the size of its Medical Center on 250 Hospital Parkway. The Kaiser-financed project would demolish the existing 250,000-square-foot hospital and transform it into a 685,000-square-foot hospital with a five-story parking lot. The hospital would also increase the number of beds from 247 to 303. If approved by the City Council, construction is expected to begin later this year and take approximately five years.

“Kaiser Permanente intends to replace its existing hospital in San Jose with a new state-of-the-art facility to meet current seismic standards, marking the beginning of a major and unprecedented expansion of medical services that will greatly boost the well-being of patients and members in the community,” a Kaiser spokesperson told San José Spotlight.

Planning Commissioner Justin Lardinois said the existing hospital is set to remain fully functional during construction until the new medical center is complete.

“In this particular case, Kaiser has the space on their existing campus to do it,” Lardinois told San José Spotlight. “As San Jose’s population ages, they want to make sure they’re prepared and trying to make it possible for folks to have their own rooms instead of having to share a room, as sometimes happens when the hospital is at high capacity.”

Tina Wehrmeister, senior land use manager for Kaiser, told commissioners that patient rooms would no longer need to be shared as their bed count increases. She also said the completed hospital will be one of California’s first all-electric facilities.

The state has mandated that all hospitals must meet new earthquake seismic standards to remain operational by 2030. Wehrmeister said when Kaiser reviewed its facilities it became clear the best solution was to replace the hospital.

Kaiser Construction Projects Director Lee Ann Knight said she’s unable to disclose the cost of the new hospital, but acknowledged it will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Commissioner Dilpreet Bhandal said he’s happy to see Kaiser reinvesting dollars in San Jose and creating a net increase in emergency department beds.

“In exchange for a few years of construction noise, locals can then enjoy an upgraded hospital,” Bhandal told San José Spotlight.

Residents expressed concern over the removal of at least 131 trees during community meetings and public comments. Dave Nyberg said he’s among those worried about the tree removals, but after listening to Kaiser sees the long-term benefits.

“We’re pretty excited,” he told commissioners on Sept. 11. “The small downside is having noise and construction traffic for three or four years … we think it’s going to be a really good benefit and impact our housing in a good way.”

Contact Vicente Vera at [email protected] or follow @VicenteJVera on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story attributed the increase in hospital beds to the emergency department.