Groundbreaking held for 1st building at UK’s Hamburg East location
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 15, 2026) — City and state officials joined University of Kentucky and UK HealthCare leaders at a ceremonial groundbreaking to celebrate the start of construction for the new Hamburg East Medical Office Building on Cowgill Way, located off Winchester Road. The project represents the first phase of a multiphased development at UK’s Hamburg East site. It is the latest step in UK HealthCare’s strategy of creating greater access to high-quality outpatient services — with clinics now in Frankfort, opening next month in Richmond and coming soon at Newtown Pike in Lexington.
“As part of our mission to serve and advance Kentucky, UK and UK HealthCare are expanding access to high-quality outpatient services through the development of a new medical office building in the Hamburg East area of Lexington,” said Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration and Co-Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Eric N. Monday. “This area in and around Hamburg has the largest concentration of UK employees in the county and allows us to create easier access to care close to where employees and their families live. Additionally, it provides convenient access for our many Eastern Kentucky patients as they travel to Lexington for care.”
The 220,000-square-foot facility will combine the expertise, innovation and specialty care of an academic medical center with the convenience and accessibility of a community setting. It will include services ranging from adult and pediatric primary and urgent care to multidisciplinary musculoskeletal care where a team of orthopaedics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and interventional pain will be housed together to deliver a comprehensive care model to patients. Other specialties at the site will include women’s health; ear, nose and throat; ophthalmology; dermatology; cardiology; neurology; and rheumatology, as well as expanded access to nononcology infusion, imaging, laboratory services and a full-service drive-thru retail pharmacy.
“Lexington, and residents from across the region, will be better served thanks to the University of Kentucky and UK HealthCare’s expansion at their Hamburg East location,” said Mayor Linda Gorton. “Our city is a centralized hub for many of Kentucky’s healthcare needs, from emergency and specialized services, to routine care. We are grateful to UK and UK HealthCare for investing in our community and helping make Lexington an even stronger home for world-class healthcare.”
Substantial completion of the medical office building — estimated to cost approximately $275 million — is planned for December 2028, and the first patient visits are targeted for spring 2029.
The initial phase of this broader site plan is to deliver a medical office building that extends care and expertise for services that are increasingly needed by patients and the communities UK HealthCare serves. Overall, the first phase of the development includes the medical office building as well as landscaped green space, an arrival plaza and parking.
“We are very proud to reach this milestone and especially pleased to see UK HealthCare become such an important part of the development at Hamburg East,” said Norwood “Buddy” Cowgill Jr., president and CEO of Cowgill Inc. “This project is about more than a new medical office building; it is about investing in the future of and creating a place that will serve this community for generations. We are grateful to UK HealthCare and to everyone who has helped make this vision a reality, and we’re excited about what is still ahead for Hamburg East.”
In 2023, the UK Board of Trustees approved the acquisition of about 41 acres in the Hamburg area at the corner of I-75 and Winchester Road (US-60). In February 2024, Cowgill Inc., the original landowner and developer, initiated site preparation, which was completed earlier in 2026.
UK HealthCare continues to experience high demand with outpatient visits now exceeding three million annually. About two million of those occur in UK HealthCare’s ambulatory clinics. This facility is predicted to support access for approximately 300,000 outpatient visits annually by 2034.
“Hamburg East represents the future of ambulatory care at UK HealthCare,” said Ambulatory Chief Medical Officer Kristen Stakelin, M.D. “By thoughtfully bringing together primary care, advanced subspecialty services, imaging, laboratory services, therapy and pharmacy services, we are creating a more seamless experience for patients and families. This investment allows us to meet growing demand while delivering high-quality care in a setting that is convenient, coordinated and patient focused.”
The project is a P3, or public-private partnership, with PMB LLC, a full-service healthcare real estate development company that works with health systems, hospitals, medical groups, specialty providers and other academic medical centers. PMB will plan, design, construct, finance and provide operations and maintenance of the medical office building, allowing UK HealthCare to remain focused on its core missions of patient care, education and research.
Additionally, UK will retain ownership of the land and lease the project site to PMB for an initial term of 65 years with potential extensions. PMB will lease the facility to UK in a 15-year lease term, with 2- or 10-year renewal options.
“Being part of UK HealthCare’s mission of Advancing Kentucky has been an incredibly rewarding experience,” said PMB President and Managing Partner Jake Rohe. “The partnership clicked from day one, is built on strong relationships and trust and created a unique and powerful project team culture. It’s been a special personal and professional experience.”
Consistent with previous successful P3s, UK will leverage PMB’s development and construction expertise. The university will oversee key design standards and clinical operations to ensure alignment with UK and UK HealthCare quality, operational and mission-driven requirements as well as its strategic objective of expanding outpatient access to serve its people and its partners.
“It is an honor to celebrate a project that shows what is possible when state government, the university, local leaders and private partners work together toward a healthier, more prosperous Kentucky,” said Kentucky House Speaker Pro Tem David Meade. “This is a great example of responsible state investment delivering real benefits for Kentuckians, and I appreciate everyone whose leadership and commitment helped bring this project to life.”
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated healthcare professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns and the region’s only Level 1 trauma center.
As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the healthcare landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.