"The Downtown hospital is Allina's oldest--it has mostly double rooms and it's of an age where it's difficult to adapt for new technology," says a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-based hospital system. Allina does not own the current hospital, parts of which are about a century old, the spokeswoman says.

The vision for a healthcare campus started in 1999 with construction plans for Owatonna Clinic's 26th Street location and the purchase of additional land to accommodate a healthcare campus, says David Berg, Owatonna Clinic chief administrative officer. The clinic will donate the land for the new hospital in order to provide Owatonna with a "state-of-the-art, integrated healthcare campus," Berg says.

Allina will hold public meetings to gather input from the community on what kind of hospital it will be. "We hope to hear from residents about the features, amenities and medical services they want and need in a new hospital," says Dorothy Erdmann, president of Owatonna Hospital.