Project Overview

Berglund was the construction manager for the new 37-bed inpatient vertical addition above the existing two-story administration building. The existing building remained occupied through the project including the demolition of the existing penthouse. Building systems included structural precast facade, clay tile roof, skylights, elevators and medical gas headwalls. The vertical addition christened the “S.S. La Rabida” is visually outfitted like a ship, with the nautical theme carried throughout the entire unit.

Each room is designed as if walking into a ship’s cabin with a porthole as a window. Once in their “cabins,” the children have a beautiful view through a large window of either Lake Michigan or Jackson Park Harbor. As children and families travel the S.S. La Rabida deck, they stroll under fiber optic stars. One of the top priorities in building the S.S. La Rabida was to accommodate parents' needs. Each cabin provides room for parent overnight stays with window seats that convert to beds.