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The new Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel is expected to provide state-of-the-art care to nearly 100,000 sick children this year. But the facility’s impact also extends throughout the hospital’s campus and into Northeast Portland.

After three years of work led by Hoffman Construction, the $250 million, 334,000-square-foot hospital is opening its doors to the public this weekend. Pediatric inpatients will move from the present Randall Children’s Hospital to the new facility across the street on Feb. 26.

But construction was not limited to the new, nine-story tower.

鈥淭his was not just a project about Randall Children’s Hospital,鈥� said Sharron van der Meulen, a principal at Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects. 鈥淚t really included a lot of upgrades to the campus, and the goal was to make a really viable connection to the neighborhood and community.鈥�

Crews widened North Gantenbein Avenue, which runs between the main hospital and the children’s hospital, and developed a landscaped boulevard.聽New signs, sidewalks and covered drop-off areas were added throughout the campus, to create a more welcoming and navigable environment.

鈥淲e paid attention to small things that will help people who are coming to visit,鈥� said Bryce Helgerson, vice president of hospital operations. 鈥淎 lot of people are using GPS now, so we added the addresses of buildings to the signage, which will get them directed to the right building.鈥�

Leaders at Legacy Emanuel have participated in city planning to redevelop two-acre Dawson Park near the campus. Hospital workers often spend breaks in the park, and children with long-term hospital stays sometimes visit the green space with their families.

City staffers are reviewing final construction documents for the $1.6 million park improvement project, and they hope the hospital will help pay for an interactive play fountain, according to Sandra Burtzos, landscape architect and project manager for the city.

鈥淧utting in the fountain at the northwest corner would be a nice tie-in to the esplanade that leads to the children’s hospital,鈥� she said, but the city is still seeking $300,000 to pay for all of the planned amenities.

Designers worked to emphasize connections to nature within the hospital.

The third floor features a garden terrace, and large windows are able to flood patient rooms with natural light. Animal graphics and colors visible throughout the hospital are intended to mimic Northwest imagery, according to van der Meulen.

鈥淗opefully the kids find something amusing, familiar and comfortable in the nature-based imagery,鈥� van der Meulen said.

Because much of the design emphasizes the natural environment, the architects also wanted to minimize the visual impact of the building from the outside.

鈥淭he building itself is a light-colored terra-cotta, which in some ways minimizes the effect on the skyline,鈥� van der Meulen said. 鈥淚t also has a beautiful reflective quality, so when you’re looking over in the morning hours, it shimmers and picks up reflections of clouds, while the glass used, especially on the east side, allows you to see all the way through the building.鈥�

The next phase of construction on the Legacy Emanuel campus will involve renovating the two floors that will soon be vacated by the children’s hospital. The 90,000 square feet in the main hospital will be converted into an adult critical care unit, also designed by ZGF. The multimillion-dollar construction project is out to bid, according to Helgerson, and is expected to wrap up by the end of the year.