Author: Sarah Barber
"The project team wanted to incorporate a hospitality feel within the health care setting and kept that in mind while designing the dining space."
The countdown is on. In six months, McLaren Greater Lansing will open its doors to patients in a brand-new facility on the corner of Forest Road and Collins Road in South Lansing.
While the exterior of the hospital has been finished for a couple of months, work on the interior is still happening. One of the spaces that is really starting to take shape is the cafeteria.
“The project team wanted to incorporate a hospitality feel within the health care setting and kept that in mind while designing the dining space,” said Austin Holcomb, Director of Facilities at McLaren Greater Lansing. “We focused on the environment of the space, with lots of natural light and a variety of seating options for either those who wanted some quiet space to themselves or those who were looking for an active space to socialize in.”
The new cafeteria will not only offer a variety of seating options but will also provide a variety of foods including pizza cooked in a gas-fired traditional pizza oven. There will be several food stations, including a deli, grill, salad bar, entree station, and grab-and-go-options, providing many choices for staff and visitors.
Outdoor spaces have also been well thought out. “The exterior courtyard with comfortable outdoor furniture and connectivity to the city of Lansing River Trail will make for an amazing space for staff and visitors to get fresh air and time away from the hospital environment,” said Holcomb.
The city of Lansing has a multi-phase master plan for extending the Lansing non-motorized pathway system, connecting the new hospital with the city’s existing non-motorized pathway system. The city is currently in the process of installing a pathway along Forest Road from the US-127/I-496 overpass to the east through the new roundabout at the corner of Collins and Forest and heading both to the north and south along Collins Road. The trail on Collins Road will transition to an on-road bike path just south of the new McLaren health care campus.
For more information on the new hospital project, visit mclaren.org/lansing.