The Portland Planning Board unanimously approved Maine Medical Center’s plan for a 265,000-sq.-ft. building that will be built at the current location of a parking garage. (Wikipedia photo)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Officials in Portland, Maine, have approved the final phase of a proposed $525 million hospital expansion project.

The Portland Planning Board on Dec. 17 unanimously approved Maine Medical Center's plan for a 265,000-sq.-ft. building that will be built at the current location of a parking garage.

Administrators said the building will include private patient rooms and cardiovascular rooms, and it will have a main entrance that will make it easier for visitors to access the complex.

Maine Medical Center Executive Vice President Jeff Sanders said the planning board decision marks a "very important milestone" for the hospital and community.

The hospital must complete work on a new staff garage before work on the third phase can start. The hospital expects to finish the building in 2022.

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