Brooks-TLC head Ken Morris and a Kaleida Health executive went over plans for a new hospital with Fredonia officials this week.

Morris and Rob Bragg, a Kaleida vice president specializing in campus development, attended a Fredonia Board of Trustees workshop to talk about the new facility. It’s slated for a former Cornell Cooperative Extension grape farm off East Main Street in the village.

Morris said Brooks-TLC’s original plan for the hospital changed because “we wanted to have a place where physicians could see patients on campus.” That led to an expansion of the proposed building to 133,000 square feet (it was previously proposed at 101,000 square feet).

Morris stated approximately half of the hospital’s patients come from outside Dunkirk and Fredonia. Brooks-TLC thinks the new location close to major highways will provide better access for all community members, he said. The current hospital is located on Central Avenue at the edge of downtown Dunkirk.

“We have some strategies in place to continue to add services” in health care at the new hospital, Morris said.

Bragg said Kaleida Health is “honored to help” and noted that the healthcare provider just acquired the land the hospital will sit on. He said Turner Construction Co. — which worked on the new Children’s Hospital in Buffalo and the upcoming Bills stadium in Orchard Park — will handle the construction.

Project runners are trying to meet a July 30 deadline set by the state to get a negative State Environmental Quality Review declaration and a site plan approved, Bragg said. State funding is essential to a project that was originally envisioned as $75 million, but has ballooned to around $200 million.

Trustee Paul Wandel asked about that surge in the price tag. Bragg blamed “inflation, tariffs, competition, NFL stadium” for driving up the price. Morris said the inflation was key, noting that the project was originally proposed nearly a decade ago.

Morris also noted the increased square footage and stated infrastructure construction has become more advanced and costly.

Bragg said Kaleida is making a “significant investment” in the project. He said state funding is “very helpful” but Kaleida’s investment got the project over the funding finish line.

Morris said the new hospital is “going to be a very important recruiting tool for us in the future.” He stated that the current hospital in Dunkirk makes it “quite a challenge to bring people to our area” currently. That’s because there has been little investment in the Dunkirk “shell” for decades, he asserted.

Trustee Jon Espersen asked about the time frame for construction of the hospital, which has been reported as 32 months. Bragg said it could get done in 29 months.

The site plan must get approved by the Fredonia Planning Board before construction can begin. That board planned to meet again on Wednesday to formally approve it.