LAYTON — Eight years ago, land was purchased just west of Interstate 15 in Layton to build a new hospital in the heart of Davis County, said Tim Pehrson, a regional vice president for Intermountain Healthcare’s North Region.

The “great recession” delayed plans for a new hospital for a while, but it was never off the table for Layton City and Intermountain Healthcare, Chris Dallin, director of communications for Intermountain Healthcare’s North region, added. Eventually, a better economy moved the plans forward.

Now, an invitation-only groundbreaking for the new Intermountain Layton Hospital will take place at 3 p.m. Thursday.

An open house from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. will follow the groundbreaking and is open to the public. Both events are at 201 West Layton Parkway, west of I-15 and east of the corner of Layton Parkway and Flint Street.

RELATED: Intermountain Healthcare to build new Layton hospital

Representatives of Layton City, Life Flight, Intermountain Technology and Intermountain LiVe Well will staff information booths. There will also be booths to learn about the hospital’s floor plan and landscaping, as well as refreshments and on-site parking.

Although Intermountain Healthcare did not have an estimated number of jobs the hospital and medical center will provide Layton, Pehrson said the number of new jobs for the community will be “significant.” The open house will have a booth offering employment information.

If it rains, the event will still go on. “We will have large heated tent to accommodate a crowd,” Dallin said.

The five-story, 300,000 square-foot hospital will have four operating rooms. Others services include a special care nursery, labor and delivery, an emergency department, physical therapy and rehabilitation services, physician offices and more.

“We’re really excited that Primary Children’s Hospital will have outpatient services there,” Dallin said. Having that north of Salt Lake City will be a convenience to patients and their families in the Davis area, he said.

Prior to the hospital’s scheduled 2018 opening, construction of a medical office building will be completed in 2017.

“About 66 percent of in-patient services leave the county,” Pehrson said. The hospital and medical office building will increase medical options for area residents.

The new hospital surroundings will have walking trails and eventually a community garden, Dallin said.

The new hospital is part of a larger effort with Layton City to rejuvenate Historic Downtown Layton, Dallin said. “We believe the hospital will be an important addition to the area,” he said, adding that it comes at a time where there is population growth west of I-15.

Layton Mayor Bob Stevenson echoed those sentiments in a news release. “Having an additional hospital located in Layton enhances the quality of life for our residents and the growing population in Davis County,” Stevenson said.

The Layton hospital will be the 23rd Intermountain Healthcare hospital. All but one, in Burley, Idaho, are in Utah. 

Dallin said the groundbreaking will also include representatives of businesses involved in the construction and implementation of the buildings: Jacobsen Construction, HKS Architects and J&J Nursery and Garden Center.

dgibson@standard.net