Morehouse School of Medicine and Atrium Health have approved plans to build a new teaching hospital on Metropolitan Parkway SW in southwest Atlanta, signaling a major step toward expanding Southside healthcare access.

The project includes a comprehensive network of primary, urgent, and specialty care designed to serve Fulton County’s central and southern regions, with the hospital acting as the clinical anchor.

Officials describe the facility as the cornerstone of a broader integrated healthcare network that will connect with the city’s existing services.

Plans call for an acute-care hospital that starts with about 50 beds and can expand to more than 700 beds, plus medical offices, research facilities, and a healthplex offering imaging, infusion, endoscopy, and emergency services.

Next steps include ongoing community engagement, formal planning updates, and negotiations with Fulton County over support for the ambulatory network and shared information systems.

City officials emphasize the hospital’s role in improving emergency and routine care access for underserved Southside and Westside communities, aligning with urban health access goals.

Atrium Health commits more than $700 million in capital and clinical investment, including a Level III trauma center, obstetrics, NICU, advanced imaging, cardiac care, endoscopy, and ambulatory and virtual care options.

Economic analyses project about 5,400 construction jobs and 4,800 permanent positions, with an annual economic impact near $1.25 billion once fully operational; the city plans over $115 million in site prep, roadwork, and equipment.

The hospital network will integrate primary care, specialty services, diagnostics, urgent care, and academic medicine, with exploration of virtual care models like Hospital at Home.

The initiative seeks to address reduced healthcare access after the 2022 closures of Atlanta Medical Center and AMC South, particularly benefiting Southside and Westside residents facing longer trips for care.

The project aligns with Morehouse School of Medicine’s health equity mission and Atrium Health’s clinical excellence and innovation, building on collaboration like the Morehouse Healthcare East Point clinic.

The Georgia Department of Community Health has approved the project, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for construction.