Permitting problem halts part of UPMC Presbyterian hospital tower construction

A portion of construction work at the new UPMC Presbyterian hospital tower was halted Thursday after a Pittsburgh inspector found the project did not have all the necessary permits, according to a city spokeswoman.

Maria Montaño, a spokesperson for Mayor Ed Gainey, said UPMC did not have the required electrical and mechanical permits, so work in those areas was stopped.

The stoppage to work, Montaño said, is “limited in nature.”

The project did have the proper building permits, she said, so that portion of the work is moving ahead uninterrupted.

UPMC broke ground on the hospital tower in June 2022 after announcing it in 2017. It’s expected to be 900,000 square feet and 17 stories tall, and feature 636 private rooms. The $1.5 billion project is estimated to be finished in fall of 2026.

It was not immediately clear how long the pause to construction would last.

“The general contractor and Pittsburgh Building Trades Council are working to get this resolved expeditiously,” UPMC said in a statement Friday.

Montaño said the ball is in UPMC’s court to get the proper permits finalized. She said city officials have reached out to them about an opportunity to utilize the city’s accelerated review process to get the permits quicker.

An inspector with the city’s Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections became aware of the permitting issue during a “somewhat routine inspection” Thursday, Montaño said.