Fairview seeks major expansion of St. John’s Hospital

M Health Fairview has proposed a 190,000‑square‑foot, four‑story addition to St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood, a project that would boost the facility’s total size to roughly 560,000 square feet and mark one of the bigger east‑metro hospital expansions in recent years. The plan, which requires city approvals, is slated for a Maplewood City Council decision in April 2026. Details on beds, service lines and cost aren’t public yet, but a build‑out of this scale typically signals more inpatient capacity and expanded specialty or surgical services aimed at capturing a bigger share of east‑metro patients who might otherwise head to St. Paul or Minneapolis campuses. For Ramsey and Washington County residents, the expansion would shift more care closer to home while locking in years of construction and associated traffic and zoning impacts around the hospital campus. It also lands at a time when the region’s hospital finances are under strain, raising questions about how Fairview plans to pay for growth while safety‑net systems like HCMC are warning of cuts or closure.