---
title: "$9.4M Permit Pushes UAB Emergency Room Expansion in Birmingham"
url: https://www.herebirmingham.com/2026/10/27/uab-hospital-er-expansion-9-4-million-permit-birmingham/
date: 2026-10-27T06:16:52-05:00
modified: 2026-10-27T06:16:52-05:00
author: "Marina Freeman"
categories: ["Business"]
site: "HERE Birmingham"
attribution: "HERE Birmingham"
---

# $9.4M Permit Pushes UAB Emergency Room Expansion in Birmingham

> BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Work on the bigger emergency department at UAB Hospital in Birmingham picked up another major approval last week, when a $9.4 million building permit was issued for the North Pavilion portion of the project. The permit was the largest of 15 Alabama construction permits worth more than $1 million each that were

*Source: [HERE Birmingham](https://www.herebirmingham.com/2026/10/27/uab-hospital-er-expansion-9-4-million-permit-birmingham/) — October 27, 2026 by Marina Freeman*

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Work on the bigger emergency department at UAB Hospital in Birmingham picked up another major approval last week, when a $9.4 million building permit was issued for the North Pavilion portion of the project.

The permit was the largest of 15 Alabama construction permits worth more than $1 million each that were issued during the week, most of them in the Birmingham and Huntsville metro areas. Brasfield & Gorrie is the lead contractor on the hospital job.

The North Pavilion work is one piece of a $73 million overhaul of the University Emergency Department. Plans call for reworking the first floor of the pavilion, converting the atrium next door into space for patient care and building a new three-story addition where the drop-off drive now sits.

When it is finished, the expansion will add 66,030 square feet, 59 new exam rooms and more imaging capacity for emergency patients, according to the university. Construction on the long-term project began on July 7, 2025.

The state is covering most of the bill. A $50 million grant from the Alabama Legislature pays for the bulk of the work, and UAB Medicine is funding the rest.

The schedule runs in stages. Phase one, which gives the ER a new front door on Sixth Avenue South, is set to wrap up this month. Phase two is due in March 2027, with the last stage planned for June 2027.

The university launched the expansion in response to demand for emergency care that has outrun the space available, and has already used temporary rooms and modular units to ease wait times while construction continues.