$8.66M Emory Hospital Tower Phase 2 Expansion in Atlanta Requires 7 Low Voltage Systems

An $8.66 million fit-out of shell space on the 5th floor of the Emory University Hospital Tower in Atlanta requires seven low voltage systems — including nurse call, medical-grade AV, fire alarm, DAS, and structured cabling. The estimated LV contract value exceeds $1.04 million, making this one of the highest-density LV scopes on a Georgia permit this quarter.

Project Overview

Attribute	Detail
Project	Emory University Hospital Tower — J-Wing 5th Floor Patient Bed Expansion (Phase 2)
Address	1364 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30322
Project Value	$8,660,000
Estimated LV Value	$1,040,000 (≈12% of project)
LV Systems	7 systems (score 10/10)
Scope	Interior fit-out of existing shell space for additional patient beds
Source	City of Atlanta Building Permit BB-202510240
Status	Active permit

Permit records filed with the City of Atlanta show Phase 2 of an ongoing patient bed expansion inside the Emory University Hospital Tower — a 450,000-square-foot, nine-story patient tower that opened in 2017 as one of the largest healthcare projects ever built in metro Atlanta. The tower was originally delivered as a core-and-shell facility, meaning several floors were completed structurally and mechanically but left unfinished so Emory Healthcare could program and build out additional bed capacity as demand grew. Phase 2 activates that strategy on the 5th floor.

For low voltage contractors, fit-outs of hospital shell space are among the most LV-heavy scopes in healthcare construction. The structure, HVAC risers, and medical gas are already in place — the permit value is overwhelmingly driven by interior finishes, casework, medical equipment, and technology infrastructure.

Key Players

The Emory University Hospital Tower is owned and operated by Emory Healthcare, the clinical arm of Emory University. The original 2017 tower was delivered by a top-tier healthcare construction team — context that matters because Phase 2 buildouts typically stay within the same technical standards and infrastructure specifications set during the core-and-shell phase:

Role	Firm (Original 2017 Tower)	Notes
Owner / Operator	Emory Healthcare	Verified on current permit
General Contractor	McCarthy Building Companies	Delivered the original 2017 tower
Architect	SmithGroup	Design architect on the base building
Structural Engineer	Walter P Moore	Structural engineer of record
MEP / Commissioning	Working Buildings	MEP engineering and commissioning

LV subcontractors chasing Phase 2 should expect technology standards to match — or extend — what was installed in Phase 1, including the tower's existing nurse call backbone, access control head-end, and fiber distribution plant.

LV Systems Breakdown

System	Scope on a Hospital Patient Floor	Complexity
Nurse Call	Bedside stations, dome lights, bathroom pull cords, staff-station integration with existing tower head-end (typically Rauland, Hillrom, or Ascom)	High — UL 1069 listed, integrates with paging and wireless
Structured Cabling	Cat 6A to every bed, nurse station, workstation on wheels, wall-mounted monitor, and patient TV; fiber uplinks to tower MDF	High — typically 40-80 drops per patient room floor
Access Control	Card readers on stairwells, med rooms, supply rooms, clean/dirty utility, staff corridors; interlocked with fire alarm for egress	Medium — tied into Emory's campus-wide head-end
CCTV	IP cameras at elevator lobbies, nurse stations, med room entrances, service corridors; NVR capacity on the floor	Medium
AV (Medical Grade)	Patient TVs, digital signage at nurse stations, in-room whiteboards with EHR integration, way-finding	Medium-High — HIPAA-aware integrations
Fire Alarm	Smoke/heat detection, pull stations, strobes/horns, smoke-compartment door releases, elevator recall interfaces	High — NFPA 72 + GA state amendments, FSES required for patient sleeping
DAS	In-building public safety + cellular coverage extension from the existing tower DAS head-end into the new buildout	High — AHJ-driven, coordinates with existing tower antenna layout

Estimated LV Value: $1.04M

Healthcare fit-outs of this density typically run 10% to 14% of total project value in LV scope when all seven of the listed systems are in play — nurse call and DAS alone can account for 30-40% of the LV budget on a hospital floor. Applying a mid-range 12% benchmark against the $8.66M permit value yields an estimated low voltage contract value of $1,040,000.

• Nurse call: ~$250K-$320K (bedside stations, dome lights, head-end extension)
• Structured cabling: ~$180K-$240K (Cat 6A, fiber, pathways, terminations, testing)
• Fire alarm: ~$150K-$200K (devices, programming, smoke-compartment tie-ins)
• DAS: ~$120K-$180K (coverage extension, commissioning)
• Access control + CCTV: ~$150K-$200K combined (readers, cameras, head-end licenses)
• AV: ~$90K-$140K (patient TVs, nurse-station displays, whiteboards)

These ranges assume the subcontractor is extending existing systems rather than installing new head-ends, which is the case for a Phase 2 fit-out inside an active tower.

Skills & Certifications

A fit-out like this requires an LV integrator that can field a healthcare-experienced team — not a generic commercial crew. Minimum certifications to expect in the bid package:

• BICSI RCDD on staff for the structured cabling design-build component
• NICET Level II+ Fire Alarm technicians on site during programming and acceptance
• Manufacturer certifications on the existing tower's nurse call platform (Rauland, Hillrom, or Ascom)
• Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) Level 3-4 training for all field techs working adjacent to occupied patient floors
• OSHA 10/30 plus hospital-specific safety orientation
• Ability to pass Emory Healthcare's vendor credentialing (background, immunization, HIPAA)

Contractors without active healthcare fit-out experience will struggle on ICRA and phasing alone — this is not a scope where a first-time healthcare integrator should be learning on the job.

Market Signal

Metro Atlanta healthcare construction has stayed strong through 2025 and into 2026, with Emory Healthcare alone running multiple active capital projects including a $87.7M heart and vascular expansion opened in 2024 and additional midtown housing development for healthcare employees announced in 2025. The Phase 2 buildout on the 5th floor is a signal that Emory is continuing to activate shell space rather than build new towers — a pattern that favors incumbent LV integrators already familiar with the tower's standards.

For LV contractors not currently on Emory's vendor list, the parallel heart and vascular expansion and the broader Peachtree Midtown development pipeline represent near-term openings to get pre-qualified before the next shell-space fit-out hits the permit desk.

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