The University of Chicago Medicine is marking one year until the opening of the AbbVie Foundation Cancer Pavilion, a first-of-its-kind freestanding facility on the city’s South Side designed to redefine cancer care, research and the patient experience.
Scheduled to open in April 2027 on UChicago Medicine’s main campus, the 575,000-square-foot Cancer Pavilion is among the largest and most ambitious projects in the academic health system’s history. It also represents a major investment for Chicago’s South Side, aimed at expanding access to advanced cancer care and improving health equity in surrounding communities.
With construction entering its final phase, the project is now transitioning from structural development to preparations for full-scale clinical operations.
"The AbbVie Foundation Cancer Pavilion embodies our commitment to integrating cutting-edge science with compassionate patient care,” said Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs at UChicago Medicine. “By bringing clinicians and researchers together in one place, we can accelerate discoveries and translate them more quickly into personalized treatments. This is more than a new facility; it is a catalyst for advancing the science of cancer and improving outcomes for patients in Chicago, the region and beyond."
The Pavilion will be Illinois’ first freestanding facility dedicated exclusively to cancer, bringing outpatient clinics, clinical trials, advanced imaging, infusion services and inpatient care under one roof. This integrated model is designed to strengthen coordination among multidisciplinary teams and create a more seamless patient experience.
The need for that approach is urgent. Inequities in cancer outcomes are driven in large part by inequities in access to prevention, early detection and specialized care
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects cancer rates will increase by 49% between 2015 and 2050. On Chicago’s South Side, cancer is the second-leading cause of death, and area residents are nearly twice as likely to die from cancer as those who live in other parts of the U.S. At the same time, a UChicago Medicine assessment found that about half of South Side patients leave the area to get the care they need.
"This environment will enable our teams to expand clinical trials, deepen patient-centered care, and confront longstanding disparities affecting our South Side community and the city,” said Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, Director of the UChicago Comprehensive Cancer Center. “By significantly expanding our capacity — with more beds, advanced diagnostic capabilities and a broader range of prevention and treatment programs — we can connect more patients to the care they need, closer to home."
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