Work on Harmar hospital expected to start next week

After nearly a year of delays, work to build Allegheny Health Network’s neighborhood hospital in Harmar is expected to begin next week.

AHN spokeswoman Candace Herrington said Rycon Construction crews will begin by preparing the site for construction, including installing fencing around it and placing a trailer onsite.

The planned hospital at Guys Run and Freeport roads, next to the Zone 28 entertainment center, is expected to open next summer, Herrington said.

The facility will be a 24-hour emergency care hospital that will offer other medical services such as lab tests, imaging services and inpatient care.

AHN officials initially hoped construction would start shortly after a ceremonial groundbreaking last October, but the lot has remained empty since then and no work has occurred.

Health network officials previously said the project was delayed as the company worked to finalize leasing and land agreements related to the site.

AHN formed a joint venture with Texas-based Emerus, a developer and operator of neighborhood hospitals, to build four such facilities in the Pittsburgh area. The others will be in McCandless, Hempfield and Brentwood.

AHN officials previously said they chose Harmar because there is a high number of patients and network members in the area. It is situated between Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison and an outpatient facility near Fox Chapel.

It’s about six miles from competitor UPMC’s St. Margaret hospital near Aspinwall, 10 miles from AHN’s Allegheny Valley Hospital and 12 miles from its flagship hospital, Allegheny General Hospital on Pittsburgh’s North Side.