Four years ago, the University of Iowa opened up it's amazing Stead Family Children's Hospital. It was an expensive project to be sure, after design changes and other issues pushed the project $122 million over budget. Now, just four years after opening, the hospital is asking for another $15 million to replace two floors of windows, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

The Board of Regents will take up the issue next week and vote on whether to approve the money to replace the windows on the 4th and 5th floors of the hospital, and on a connector bridge that leads to the main UIHC campus. That price tag does not include the cost of assessing which windows need replaced, or temporary measures being used to keep visitors safe.

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Hospital officials told the Gazette that they started noticing cracks in a few windows. When more began to appear they hired an outside firm to come in and access the damage. The consultant found issues with only certain types of windows in the hospital, meaning that most, including those in patient rooms, were O.K. Last summer the hospital put a protective coating over the affected windows and closed the hospital playground.

The Gazette reports that although UIHC doesn't believe that windows on other floors are at risk, officials are actively monitoring the situation until a permanent solution is agreed upon. If the money for new windows is approved, it will push the total cost of the hospital to over $407 million.

 

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