Lakes Region General Hospital plans expansion.

Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia has filed an application for a multimillion-dollar expansion project focused on the aging of the local population, a preference for private rooms and a need for new technology in inpatient rooms.

The project is designed to enhance inpatient services for the sickest patients in Laconia, while moving much of its outpatient care to an office complex in Gilford.

The $52 million project is divided into two parts. The first would add 90,000 square feet to the hospital campus in Laconia, by adding a new wing and connecting the now-separate hospital and office building. The new space would include intensive care and progressive care wings, an elder care wing and more private inpatient rooms, which will allow the hospital to convert its existing semi-private rooms.

The second part involves buying and renovating a 32,000-square-foot condominium space in Gilford, to house hospital-owned outpatient practices and specialty clinics, such as its sleep lab and rehab pool. The space is next to the local orthopedic surgery practice, so many of the rehabilitative services there will be convenient for patients, officials said.