State officials approved $300 million in funding for Utica, N.Y.-based Mohawk Valley Health System's new hospital.
The funds were OK'd in the Fiscal Year 2018 State Budget Extender, which passed Monday.
"This is the announcement that we've been waiting for," Scott Perra, president and CEO of MVHS, said. "It has been quite the journey from the time [Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo] specifically cited our project in the 2015 State of the State address as part of his proposed $700 million to support Upstate New York hospitals."
Mr. Perra added MVHS will work with the New York State Department of Health on the contract agreement for the $300 million grant after legislators adopt the final 2018 New York State budget.
The proposed $480 million hospital will combine two of the system's Utica-based facilities — St. Elizabeth Medical Center and Faxton St. Luke's Hospital — into a new hospital.
The remaining $180 million in funds will come from MVHS capital, bonds and fundraising, the hospital said. Construction is slated to reach completion in the third quarter of 2022, according to Observer-Dispatch.