UPMC Mercy Pavilion Vision & Rehab Center Opens

PITTSBURGH, PA — The UPMC Mercy Pavilion finally is slated to open it doors with an opening ceremony on Thursday. The 10-story, 400,000 square foot building will house the UPMC Vision Institute and the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute.

Plans for the $500 million project first were announced in 2017 along with two other UPMC specialty hospitals. Construction on the pavilion was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues.

Ground was broken last year on the second of the three hospitals, the new $1.5 billion UPMC Presbyterian, a 17-story structure that will have more than 600 private rooms.

The Mercy Pavilion will feature:

• Eight eye disease operating rooms.
• 83 eye exam rooms.
• 10 rehab exam rooms.
• 100,600 square feet of research space.
• A retail pharmacy.
• The Uptown Café, opening this summer.
• A clinic-gym hybrid featuring exam rooms, therapy stations, a central gym and floor-to-ceiling windows providing views of Mt. Washington and the South Side.
• A functional apartment and street simulation lab in which crucial life skills will be taught.
• A rooftop garden with training ramps and stairs.
• A collaborative staircase for doctors and researchers will discuss innovative treatments and act on real-time feedback to provide care.
• Unique and commissioned artworks will bring to life various senses: seeing, hearing, touching, and smelling.
• A six-story parking garage with 1,100 parking spaces for patients and staff.
• A walking bridge connecting the pavilion to the third floor of UPMC Mercy.