Penn State University plans to build a new Children's Hospital on the campus of its Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey.

University trustees today approved plans for project at a meeting during which they also set student room and board rates for the 2010-11 academic year.

The 252,000-square-foot facility with five floors plus a level below ground is projected to cost $207 million, medical center spokesman Sean Young said this afternoon. The hospital will be built next to the medical center's main entrance and Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute.

According to the university, the project will have pediatric surgical suites, private pediatric and adolescent patient rooms, outpatient clinics for children with cancer, and a new pediatric radiology unit. The development also will house educational resource centers for families to learn about childhood illnesses, health and wellness. It also will house what Penn State is calling a "safety store."

Plans call for the hospital's completion by fall 2012, Mr. Young said.

He said it will replace a facility within the medical center that was built for adults and lacks adequate space.

An artist's rendering can be seen online.

Also today, trustees voted to approve what they are calling the smallest room and board rate increase in a decade for next year. The average room and board rate -- including a standard double-occupancy room and the most common meal plan -- will be $4,185 per semester. That represents an increase of $100, or 2.45 percent, over last year, officials said.

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