Groundbreaking Marks Beginning of New Hospital Construction

On Monday, August 29, Cottage Health System hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to officially launch its $500+ million construction project to rebuild Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. (See timeline for further details.)

The ceremony took place on the newly prepared site for the Cottage Energy Center on Junipero Street , the former location of the Cottage Eye Center . (The Eye Center moved earlier this summer to the renovated Knapp Building on Bath Street .)

The groundbreaking ceremony included remarks by Cottage CEO Ronald Werft, Board Chair Marshall Rose, and Peter MacDougall, chair of the $100 million "Campaign for Cottage Health System." Speakers symbolically broke ground with the first shovels of dirt.

The reception area included a historic timeline display with photos of Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital's founding days and past landmark construction along with blueprints/models of the master facility plan for the future.

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CEO Ron Werft with Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum and SBCH Board Chair Marshall Rose.