The Clark County Zoning Commission unanimously approved development and use permits for Nevada’s first standalone children’s hospital, clearing an administrative hurdle for a project poised to transform pediatric care across the region.

The May 20 vote greenlights plans submitted by Intermountain Health in collaboration with the UNLV Research Foundation. The facility will rise on a 32-acre site within UNLV’s Harry Reid Research and Technology Park in the southwest valley, located near the 215 Beltway and Durango Drive.

“Today’s historic approval of Nevada’s first standalone pediatric hospital, by the Clark County Commission, will forever change healthcare in southern Nevada,” said Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft, whose district includes the future hospital campus. “The significant investment being made by Intermountain will save lives while diversifying our economy and I could not be more proud to have moved it forward.”

For decades, Las Vegas has held the unwanted distinction of being the largest metropolitan area in the United States without a dedicated, standalone children’s hospital. Local pediatric care has historically been delivered through specialized wings inside adult hospitals, which limits the infrastructure required for complex cases.

The new hospital is designed to keep families close to home by offering a comprehensive lineup of pediatric specialties under one roof, including advanced oncology, cardiac surgery, orthopedic surgery and intensive clinical support.

The medical complex represents an investment of more than $1 billion. Architectural renderings from design firms Shepley Bulfinch and Gensler reveal an eight-story, 170-foot-tall structure spanning roughly 830,350 square feet.

According to documents submitted to the county, the layout includes:

• Hospital Operations: Over 642,000 square feet dedicated to inpatient care, an advanced pediatric emergency department, radiology, surgical suites, a clinical lab, and a pharmacy.
• Capacity: The hospital will initially open with approximately 200 beds.
• Medical Office Space: An integrated 159,250-square-foot medical office building for outpatient services, clinics and administrative care.
• Behavioral Health: A dedicated 30,120-square-foot inpatient behavioral health center anchoring the upper level of the facility.

The blueprints also feature an on-site heliport for emergency medical air transport, a 29,000-square-foot central utility plant and 1,327 parking spaces.

The project is expected to inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy. The multi-year construction phase will support thousands of local building jobs.

Once fully operational, the hospital expects to hire between 2,000 and 3,000 permanent caregivers, nurses and medical staff. Healthcare leaders emphasize that a specialized, standalone pediatric environment will act as a major recruitment beacon, making it easier to attract and retain elite pediatric subspecialists who previously moved out of state for career opportunities.

With the zoning board’s waivers and use permits officially secured, the project moves off the drawing board and into physical development. Groundbreaking at the UNLV Research Park is scheduled to take place later this year, with Intermountain Health targeting an official grand opening in 2030.